Virginia Willis

Willis is an American chef, baker, writer, and content creator, whose work focuses on American, Southern, and French cuisine. Willis is the author of Secrets of the Southern Table: A Food Lover’s Tour of the Global South. She is also the author of Bon Appétit Y’all: Three Generations of Southern Cooking (2008); Basic to Brilliant, Y'all: 150 Basic Recipes and Ways to Dress Them Up for Company; Okra: A Savor the South Cookbook; Grits by Short Stack Editions; and Lighten Up, Y'all: Classic Southern Recipes Made Healthy and Wholesome (2015).

Virginia Willis
Willis at the Texas Book Festival
Born	Augusta, Georgia
Occupation	Chef and Food Writer
Nationality	American
Website
virginiawillis.com

Lighten Up, Y'all won a James Beard Award of Excellence in the Health category. Her nominations include Finalist for Best American Cookbook by the International Association of Culinary Professionals for Bon Appétit, Y’all and Lighten Up, Y'all. She was a finalist for Best Cooking School Teacher by the IACP in 2013. She is the author of "Cooking with Virginia" and the creator of the blog "Down Home Comfort" on FoodNetwork.com. She was named by the Chicago Tribune as one of “Seven Food Writers You Need to Know.”[1]

Virginia was born in Augusta, Georgia and moved to Alexandria, Louisiana where she attended elementary school and grew up eating Cajun and Creole cuisine. Her family relocated back to Georgia when she was in middle school. After beginning college at age 16, Willis earned a B.A. from University of Georgia. She began her studies in culinary arts at L'Academie de Cuisine in Maryland and graduated in 1994. She later continued her education abroad at Ecole de Cuisine LaVarenne in Burgundy, France and graduated with a Grande Diplome in 1995.

Willis’ first job in a professional kitchen was as an apprentice to Southern food authority Nathalie Dupree. Since working as Test Kitchen Director on Dupree’s PBS cooking series, she has worked on over 1000 TV episodes. Willis worked as Editorial Assistant to French cooking authority Anne Willan, during which time she was an Editor for the All New Joy of Cooking (1996-1997). Beginning in 1997, Willis worked as Kitchen Director for celebrity television hosts Martha Stewart and Bobby Flay. In 2000, she began her production career, producing and directing such shows as Epicurious (The Discovery Channel) and Home Plate (Turner Studios).

Willis has been featured in the New York Times [2]USA Today,[3] Country Living,[4] House Beautiful,[5] Food52,[6] The Washington Post,[7] and CNN.com.[8] Her writing has been published in Family Fun, Fine Cooking,[9] All Recipes, and Taste of the South.[10] She has appeared on Fox and Friends,[11] Martha Stewart Living Television,[12] Paula Deen's Best Dishes, and Throwdown! with Bobby Flay.[13] Willis placed second on an episode of Food Network's Chopped (“Bird in the Pan”) that aired on November 27, 2012.

Willis is on the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch Blue Ribbon Task Force and the Atlanta Community Food Bank Advisory Board. She is a past president of the Atlanta chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier, a member of Georgia Organics, Southern Foodways Alliance, Chefs Collaborative, and Women Chefs and Restaurateurs. As a culinary influencer and leader in focusing on food and hunger issues she was a premier member of the No Kid Hungry Atlanta Society, a group of regional influencers tasked with raising money for No Kid Hungry.

Willis lives in Atlanta, Georgia. She loves to travel and discover new foods and recipes --- and going fishing, as often as possible.

Awards

• Georgia Center for the Book awarded Secrets of the Southern Table “25 Books all Georgians Should Read” (2018)
• James Beard Award of Excellence (2016)
• Finalist International Association of Culinary Professionals Best American Cookbook (2016)
• Finalist for Les Dames d’Escoffier M.F.K Fisher Award (2014)
• Finalist for the International Association of Culinary Professionals Cooking School Teacher of the Year (2013)
• Georgia Center for the Book awarded Bon Appétit, Y’all “25 Books all Georgians Should Read” – the first cookbook to ever appear on the list (2009)
• Finalist for the International Association of Culinary Professionals Best American Cookbook Bon Appétit, Y’all (2008)

Bibliography

• Secrets of the Southern Table (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, coming Spring 2017)
• Lighten Up, Y'all (Ten Speed Press, March 2015)
• Okra: A Savor the South Cookbook (The University of North Carolina Press, 2014)
• Volume 5: Grits (Short Stack Editions, 2013)
• Basic to Brilliant, Y'all (Ten Speed Press, 2011)
• Bon Appétit, Y'all (Ten Speed Press, 2008)

References

1. Daley, Bill. "Dishing about Food Writing". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
2. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/07/dining/is-it-southern-food-or-soul-food.html
3. Schwarz, Michael A. "Winter Greens and Butternut Squash Gratin". USA Today. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
4. Kernick, John. "Traditional Easter Menu". Country Living. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
5. Green, Penelope. "Virginia Willis brings France to her Atlanta kitchen to create 'refined Southern cuisine'". House Beautiful. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
6. Willis, Virginia. "How to Make Grits without a Recipe". Food52.com. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
7. Benwick, Bonnie. "The Blended, Bountiful Table". Washington Post. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
8. Eatocracy Editors. "5@5 - Virginia Willis - Southern is a State of Mind". CNN.com. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
9. Willis, Virginia. "How to Make Hoppin' John". Fine Cooking (120). Retrieved 15 December 2014.
10. "Dishing with Virginia Willis". Taste of the South. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
11. "Canning and Preserving". FoxNews.com. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
12. "Martha Stewart Living Television". MarthaStewart.com. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
13. "Fried Green Tomato BLT (Season 9, Episode 9)". Imdb.com. Retrieved 15 December 2014.