Paula Deen

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Paula Deen

Paula Deen (left) in a public service announcement for Civitan International.
Born January 19, 1947 (1947-01-19) (age 64)
Albany, Georgia
Cooking style Southern

Paula Deen (born January 19, 1947) American cook, cooking show host, restaurateur, author, actress and Emmy Award-winning television personality. Deen resides in Savannah, Georgia, where she owns and operates The Lady & Sons restaurant with her sons, Jamie and Bobby Deen. She has also published five cookbooks. Though married in 2004 to Michael Anthony Groover,[1] she continues to use the surname Deen from her first marriage.[2]

Contents

[edit] Early life

Paula Deen was born in Albany, Georgia. As documented in the Food Network special Chefography and on her official Web site, both her parents died before she was 23 and an early marriage ended in divorce. In her 20s, Deen suffered from panic attacks with agoraphobia, eventually becoming virtually housebound, and focused on cooking for her family, as something she could do without leaving her house.[3] In 1986, she felt well enough to take a job as a bank teller. After that she and her sons moved to Savannah. In 1989, she divorced Jimmy Deen, to whom she had been married since 1965,[1] and expanded her cooking experience into a catering service.[4] She made sandwiches and other meals, which her sons Jamie and Bobby delivered.[5]

Lady & Sons restaurant in Savannah, Georgia.

[edit] Restaurants

The Bag Lady, as the business was named, was successful and soon outgrew her kitchen. On January 8, 1996, Deen opened her own restaurant, The Lady & Sons, in downtown Savannah, on West Congress Street. Within a few years, the restaurant moved to a larger building in Savannah's historic district. USA Today named The Lady & Sons the "International Meal of the Year," in 1999. The specialty is the buffet, which may include sweet potatoes, macaroni and cheese, deep-fried Twinkies, fried chicken, cheesy meatloaf, greens, beans, and creamed corn. Every meal comes with a garlic cheese biscuit and one of Deen's famous hoecakes. The restaurant is run by her sons when they are in town. The restaurant is a perennial favorite with tourists to Savannah.[6]

Deen parlayed her fame into another restaurant, the "Paula Deen Buffet" at Harrah's Tunica Casino in Tunica, Mississippi.[7] The entrance facade of the restaurant, which opened in May 2008, is modeled on Deen's home in Savannah and features Southern fare.[8]

On September 1, 2009, Deen announced plans to unveil her own dessert line at Walmart featuring signature pies (Apple Crunch Top, Dark Rum Pecan, Old Fashioned Fudge and Gooey Butter Cake bars).[9]

[edit] Books

In 1997, Deen self-published The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cooking and The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cooking 2. Both cookbooks were filled with traditional Southern recipes, such as "Gooey Butter Cake" (also known as Chess Cake, a variation of a chess pie recipe).[10] The cookbooks were very successful, and she has since published two more, written with help from Martha Nesbit. Deen has appeared on QVC and on The Oprah Winfrey Show (first in 2002, twice in 2007 and once in 2010). Her story is featured in Extraordinary Comebacks: 201 Inspiring Stories of Courage, Triumph, and Success (2007, Sourcebooks). In April 2007, Simon & Schuster published Deen's memoir, It Ain't All About the Cookin'. She launched a lifestyle magazine called Cooking with Paula Deen in November 2005.[11] which claimed a circulation of 7.5 million in March, 2009.[12]

[edit] Food Network

Deen's relationship with Food Network began in 1999, when her friend Erin Lewis introduced her to Gordon Elliott, who then introduced her to her current agent, Artist's Agency owner Barry Weiner.[13] Elliott took her through the city for a series of Doorknock Dinners episodes. She also appeared on Ready, Set, Cook!. Deen was invited to shoot a pilot named Afternoon Tea in early 2001. The network liked it, and eventually gave Deen her own show, Paula's Home Cooking, which premiered in November 2002. Paula's Home Cooking was originally taped in Millbrook, New York at the home of Gordon Elliott, the show's executive producer.[14][15] Deen mentioned in an interview aired on the March 13, 2006, edition of The Daily Buzz that the next batch of episodes of her show would be taped at her home in Savannah, Georgia. According to the first of those episodes, actual production at her new Savannah home began in November 2005.

Deen throwing out the first pitch at a Washington Nationals baseball game in Washington, D.C.

Since then, Deen has been given two more Food Network shows, Paula's Party and Paula's Best Dishes.[16] Paula's Party premiered on the Food Network in 2006 and Paula's Best Dishes debuted on June 8, 2008.[17]

A televised biography of Deen was aired on an episode of the Food Network's Chefography program, in March 2006.[18]

In December 2007, Deen teamed with Cat Cora and faced Chefs Tyler Florence and Robert Irvine in battle Sugar on the holiday special of Iron Chef America. At the end, Deen and Cora won.

Deen also helped Pat and Gina Neely get their first Food Network show, Down Home with the Neelys.[19] During the summer of 2006, her sons, Bobby and Jamie Deen, featured the Neely's Bar-B-Que Nashville location on their Food Network show Road Tasted. In September 2006, Paula ate at the Neely's downtown Memphis restaurant and was impressed. In January 2007, the Neelys were invited to appear on Paula's Party,[20] which eventually led to the Down Home show. In July 2008, the Neelys would also take over Road Tasted from the Deen brothers.

In May 2008, Deen announced at the Metropolitan Cooking and Entertaining Show that she had signed a deal to host a talk show beginning in September 2009.[21]

Deen has appeared in public service announcements for Civitan International.[22]

On February 23, 2011, Deen appeared on the show Top Chef, and sat at the Judges Table.[23]

[edit] Personal life

Deen remarried, on March 6, 2004, to Michael Groover (born 1956), a tugboat captain in the port of Savannah.[24] Michael has two children, Michelle and Anthony, from a previous marriage. The wedding and preparation were documented by Food Network for a show aired in 2004. Their wedding also took place at the Bethesda Home for Boys in Savannah, Georgia.[25] Paula is also an avid supporter of the Bethesda Home for Boys and asked Old Savannah Tours to donate $1 to the organization for each ticket purchased for the Paula Deen Store ticket sale.[25]

[edit] Film debut

Deen made her film debut in Elizabethtown, starring Orlando Bloom and Kirsten Dunst. She played the aunt of Bloom's character, and her cooking was showcased heavily. The film premiered on October 8, 2005. A Food Network special, Paula Goes Hollywood, aired in conjunction with the film's premiere.[26]

[edit] Awards and honors

In June 2007, Deen won a Daytime Emmy Awards (Outstanding Lifestyle Host) for Paula's Home Cooking.[27]

On October 26, 2010, Deen was selected as the Grand Marshal of the Tournament of Roses Parade. She and the Queen and Court presided over the Rose Parade and Rose Bowl Game on New Year's Day January 1, 2011.[28]

[edit] Criticism

Deen has faced extensive criticism for the high amounts of fat, carbohydrates, salt, and sugar in her recipes.[29] She faced particularly strong objections with the release of Lunch-Box Set, a cookbook aimed at children, with Barbara Walters saying of the book, "You tell kids to have cheesecake for breakfast. You tell them to have chocolate cake and meatloaf for lunch. And french fries. Doesn't it bother you that you're adding to this?"[30] Author and television host Anthony Bourdain commented in a 2011 interview that he "would think twice before telling an already obese nation that it's OK to eat food that is killing us."[31]

Deen is also a spokesperson for Smithfield Foods, a company that has faced allegations of animal cruelty.[32]

[edit] Filmography

Year Title Role
2002–present Paula's Home Cooking (television) Host
2005 Elizabethtown Aunt Dora
2006–2008 Paula's Party (television) Host
2006 Chefography (television) Subject
2008–present Paula's Best Dishes (television) Host
2009 Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List (television) Guest Star
2009 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (television) Guest Star
2011 Top Chef (television) Guest Judge

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Paula Deen – Biography
  2. ^ http://www.bfeedme.com/paula-deen-a-short-history-of-a-fine-woman-chef/
  3. ^ Julia Moskin (February 28, 2007). "From Phobia To Fame: A Southern Cook's Memoir". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/28/dining/28deen.html. 
  4. ^ The Lady & Sons – Paula Deen – Home Cooking, Fried Chicken, Collard Greens & Fried Tomatoes – Savannah, Georgia
  5. ^ http://www.pauladeen.com/restaurants
  6. ^ http://cooking.savvy-cafe.com/rags-to-riches-paulas-home-cooking-recipes-2008-03-27/
  7. ^ http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/may/24/paulas-party/
  8. ^ Tunica Attractions at Harrah's Tunica. Paula Deen's Buffet
  9. ^ Press Release
  10. ^ Food Timeline: history notes – pie
  11. ^ Paula Deen Magazine to Debut – Business Wire
  12. ^ Paula Deen at Universal – Furniture Today Magazine
  13. ^ SECOND HELPINGS: 33 Minutes With Paula Deen
  14. ^ Taste: Deen of the kitchen
  15. ^ Meet Savannah's Biggest Star | Chron.com – Houston Chronicle
  16. ^ http://www.cookingwithpauladeen.com/articles.php?id=34
  17. ^ Paula's Best Dishes (2008)
  18. ^ "Chef-O-Graphy" Paula Deen (2006)
  19. ^ http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/may/23/casino-scene-formerly-grand-now-it-harrahs-in/
  20. ^ http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/jan/09/down-home-stars/
  21. ^ Paula Deen’s Talk Show | in her words
  22. ^ Paula Deen PSAs
  23. ^ Zagat Buzz Blog: Paula Deen Comes to Top Chef. There Will Be Butter. February 23, 2011
  24. ^ Paula Deen Biography – Celebrity Chef Bio
  25. ^ a b Paula Deen: Our famous 'Lady" Savannah Morning News, March 25, 2010
  26. ^ TV : Food Network Specials : Paula Goes to Hollywood : Food Network
  27. ^ The Emmy Awards – Winners of The Creative Arts Entertainment emmy awards
  28. ^ Chef Paula Deen Named Rose Parade Grand Marshal, AP via ABC News, October 26, 2010
  29. ^ "How Can Paula Deen Sleep at Night?". The Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/christina-pirello/how-can-paula-deen-sleep_b_528975.html. 
  30. ^ "Barbara Walters Says Paula Deen Makes Kids Fat". Parent Dish. http://www.parentdish.com/2009/09/24/barbara-walters-says-paula-deen-makes-kids-fat/. 
  31. ^ Dish "Error: no |title= specified when using {{Cite web}}". http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/anthony-bourdain-elaborates-paula-deen-225526=Parent Dish. 
  32. ^ "Humane Humane Society Claims Pigs Abused at Va. Farm". ABC News. http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=12402463. 

[edit] External links

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