Toni Tipton-Martin and Morgan Bolling in conversation with Kim Severson

This event will take place in McElreath Hall.

A first-of-its-kind Southern cookbook featuring more than 300 Cook's Country recipes and fascinating insights into the culinary techniques and heroes of the American South.

Tour the diverse history of Southern food through 200+ stories of women who've shaped the cuisine!

Shepherded by Toni Tipton-Martin and Cook's Country Executive Editor and TV personality Morgan Bolling, When Southern Women Cook showcases the hard work, hospitality, and creativity of women who have given soul to Southern cooking from the start. Every page amplifies their contributions, from the enslaved cooks making foundational food at Monticello to Mexican Americans accessing sweet memories with colorful conchas today.

• 70+ voices paint a true picture of the South: Emmy Award–winning producer and author Von Diaz covers Caribbean immigrant foodways through Southern stews; food journalist Kim Severson delves into recipes' power as cultural currency; mixologist and beverage historian Tiffanie Barriere reflects on Juneteenth customs including red drink. Consulting food historian KC Hysmith contributes important—and fascinating—context throughout.

• 300 Recipes—must-knows, little-knowns, and modern inventions: Regional Brunswick Stew, Dollywood Cinnamon Bread, Pickle-Brined Fried Chicken Sandwiches, Grilled Lemongrass Chicken Banh Mi, and Oat Guava Cookies bridge the gap between what Southern cooking is known for and how it continues to evolve.

• Recipe headnotes contextualize your cooking: Learn Edna Lewis’ biscuit wisdom. Read about Waffle House and fry chicken thighs to top light-as-air waffles. Meet Joy Perrine, the "Bad Girl of Bourbon."
  Covering every region and flavor of the American South, from Texas Barbecue to Gullah Geechee rice dishes, this collection of 300 recipes is a joyous celebration of Southern cuisine and its diverse heroes, past and present.

Toni Tipton-Martin, Editor in Chief of Cook’s Country magazine, guided this project and team with her vast knowledge of Southern women’s food history and her journalistic approach to sharing the stories behind America’s favorite dishes. She is an award-winning food and nutrition journalist who uses cultural heritage and cooking for social change. Toni is the author of several important books that celebrate African American cookbook history: Juke Joints, Jazz Clubs, and Juice: Cocktails from Two Centuries of African American Cookbooks; Jubilee: Recipes from Two Centuries of African American Cooking, and The Jemima Code: Two Centuries of African American Cookbooks. For her work, she has received the Julia Child Foundation Award, which is given to an individual (or team) who has made a profound and significant difference in the way America cooks, eats, and drinks. She is also a three-time James Beard Book Award winner, and she has earned the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) Trailblazer Award, its Book of the Year Award, and Member of the Year Award. She is also the proud keeper of an incredible collection of rare cookbooks.

Morgan Bolling, Executive Editor of Creative Content for Cook’s Country, spearheaded When Southern Women Cook with a mission to highlight the unique ways food has sustained all kinds of Southern women through history and continues to feed them today. A Southern woman herself, born and raised in North Carolina, she is also a cast member of the Cook’s Country TV show. In her 10 years at ATK, she has developed more than 100 recipes, with a specialty in barbecue and grilling. Previously, she cooked at restaurants in New York and her home state. When not developing a new recipe, there’s a good chance Morgan is working with the Cambridge Women’s Center, running a 5K, or planning her next pig roast.

Kim Severson is a Southern-based correspondent for The New York Times who reports on the nation’s food and culture. She also contributes to NYT Cooking, a website and app based on the extensive New York Times collection of recipes and cooking videos. Previously, Kim was the Times’ Southern bureau chief, covering a mix of breaking and political news. She has covered crime, education, politics and culture as a staff writer for West Coast news organizations including the San Francisco Chronicle and The Anchorage Daily News in Alaska. Kim has won several regional and national awards for news and feature writing, including the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for her contributions to the team that investigated sexual harassment and abuse against women and four James Beard awards for food writing.  She has written four books, including her memoir “Spoon Fed: How Eight Cooks Saved My Life,” (Riverhead).” She lives in Atlanta with her partner and teenager.

About America's Test Kitchen

The mission of America's Test Kitchen (ATK) is to empower and inspire confidence, community, and creativity in the kitchen. Founded in 1992, the company is the leading multimedia cooking resource serving millions of fans with TV shows (America’s Test Kitchen, Cook’s Country, and America’s Test Kitchen: The Next Generation), magazines (Cook's Illustrated and Cook's Country), cookbooks, a podcast (Proof), FAST channels, short-form video series, and the ATK All-Access subscription for digital content. Located in a state-of-the-art, 15,000-square-foot test kitchen in Boston’s Seaport District, ATK has earned the trust of home cooks and culinary experts alike thanks to its one-of-a-kind processes and best-in-class techniques. Fifty full-time (admittedly very meticulous) test cooks, editors, and product testers spend their days tweaking every variable to find the very best recipes, equipment, ingredients, and techniques. Learn more at https://www.americastestkitchen.com/.