Paula Deen: A Savannah Celebrity
Paula Deen is an American celebrity chef and entrepreneur, a native Savannahian from humble beginnings.
From an impoverished single mother with no parents to the face of southern cuisine and comfort, Paula's career has been an enormous success and inspiration to many. Two of her three restaurants are in Savannah, and many of her TV shows were filmed in her hometown.
Whether or not you agree with the criticism she has faced throughout her career, she is an influential figure in Savannah's recent history.
Early Life
Cooking Inspiration
Paula Ann Hiers was born in Albany, Georgia, in 1947. Growing up, she watched and learned the art of southern cooking from her grandmother Irene Paul. Paula described this cooking style as "real farmhouse cooking, the kind that takes all day."
Struggles
Paula married James Deen at the age of 18 and had two sons soon after. Her mother and father both died in their forties when she was a young adult. Paula worked as a bank teller for years. During her time at the bank, she witnessed a bank robbery was held at gunpoint.
Paula suffered from depression and agoraphobia, or anxiety of leaving the house, and started to cook as a coping mechanism. When she divorced James, an abusive alcoholic, in 1989, she became a single mother with $200 to her name, needing to support not only her sons but her younger brother as well. She started "The Bag Lady" catering service, which delivered homemade lunches to office workers in Savannah, Georgia.
Early Success
The Bag Lady quickly became successful, and Paula took over the Best Western restaurant on Abercorn Street in Savannah in 1991. Forced to confront her fear of public places, she overcame ser agoraphobia. She cooked there for five years before opening her own restaurant, The Lady and Sons, in downtown Savannah. Soon the restaurant was moved to a bigger location in the Historic District.
Fame and Fortune
First Cookbook
The beginning of Paula's enormous success began in 1997 when she self-published a cookbook called, The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cooking. A literary agent at her restaurant noticed her book by pure luck, and it was picked up by a major publishing house. Paula went on to write many more cookbooks.
Food Network
Paula started her Food Network career in 1999, appearing in the Doorknock Dinners, with many episodes filmed in Savannah. Paula made many more guest appearances before she landed her own show in 2003, Paula’s Home Cooking.
TV and Movies
The year before, she was on the Oprah Winfrey Show for the first time and inspired many women with her story. Paula would go on the show three more times during her career. She also appeared on QVC. After landing the deal with Food Network, Paul was a supporting actress in Elizabethtown with Orlando Bloom.
An Icon of the South
Paula became an icon of Southern cuisine. Her comfort food dishes invoked old-timey feelings of comfort, simplicity, and many pounds of butter. They were not challenging recipes and easily accessible to the average American, which garnered her national fame as that southern mom you never had.
Troubles in Paradise
Lawsuit
In 2013, Paula was sued by an employee for racial and sexual discrimination. In the end, both parties agreed to dismiss the lawsuit. Paula admitted in the legal proceedings to having used racial slurs in the past. Before this lawsuit was dismissed, multiple brands broke their ties with Paula, including the Food Network canceling her show and her publisher ending her contract.
Many other brands and former US President Jimmy Carter stood up for her and asked for people to forgive her, citing that she had apologized and that it was in the past.
Aftermath
While it was too late for some of her major brand deals, Paula enjoyed some of her most successful years after the controversy. Her cookbook sales soared, she had the rights to Food Network shows and started her own show on Roku, she appeared on Dancing with the Stars and starred on ShopHQ. Currently, she is a guest host of the show Masterchef this year, along with the likes of Emeril Lagasse and Gordon Ramsay.
Restaurants in Savannah
Paula has two restaurants in her home in Savannah, Georgia. Her original restaurant Lady & Sons is near Ellis Square. For a taste of the true south, stop by this restaurant located in a historic building in Savannah. Paula Deen’s Creek House focuses on Southern classics with a Savannah flair and is situated in the palms of Turner’s Creek.
If you’re a Paul Deen fan, Savannah is ripe with the possibilities of encountering her early work and beginnings of fame. Paula still lives in Savannah with her husband and her restaurants are a family affair. What Paula Deen restaurant will you be visiting first?
