Paula Deen Has 'Savannah Style' and Low Cholesterol
While she may be most recognizable as the host of three shows on Food Network, Paula Deen's empire expands far beyond the kitchen. Best known for her love of decadent foods, her Southern pride and liberal use of butter, Paula has teamed up with her creative director, Brandon Branch, to co-author 'Savannah Style,' a year-round tour (and visual smorgasbord) of homes in Savannah, Georgia, that is sprinkled with advice and expertise.
PopEater sat down with Paula and Brandon to talk about being named "the queen of cholesterol" and what 'Savannah Style' is all about.
Your new book is called 'Savannah Style.' What sets Savannah, Georgia, apart from the rest of the world?
Brandon Branch: That's a good question. I think Savannah people are definitely eccentric. We're really quirky. We love to bring life outside. We love to bring the inside outside. We love collecting things, we love things that tell a story, that have a history. We have such great architecture here, everything's old. We love really unique things.
Paula Deen: Savannah is all about details. It's those little things that so quietly take it to the next level.
Is there a famous house or location you'd love to decorate?
BB: I would love to decorate the Mercer House in Savannah. It's one of the most famous homes downtown. It's the house in the movie and the book, 'Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.'
PD: Where Jim Williams shot and killed his lover, and then a few years later, Jim William dropped dead in the same spot where his lover had [also] fallen dead in the library.
Does this mean there may be a Paula Deen home decor television show in the future?
PD: You know, I know never say never. I have no idea, honey, what God's got in store for me tomorrow! I don't know, but my head is up high and my eyes are open and I think Brandon's the same way.
You've got some diehard fans who would love to see that show come to fruition. What do you watch on television?
PD: It's so funny because I am a fanatic over Discovery ID. Solving mysteries! I love whodunit. I love 'CSI' -- all those shows. 'Criminal Minds,' 'Criminal Intent,' Discovery ID! Let's get onto the next murder and let me help you solve it!
Who is your favorite Food Network star?
PD: That's hard for me to answer because I don't really watch cooking shows. The thing that makes me the saddest is that I never got to meet Julia Child. I would have loved to have had the opportunity to cook alongside her and to have met her.
One young lady that was just here on set with me, Sunny Anderson, I thoroughly enjoyed being with her. I think she's a great little cook. And her name is perfect -- it fits her personality. 'Cooking for Real' on Food Network. Believe it or not, people think that those of us on Food Network get to see each other all the time, it's totally not true. One may film in LA, one may film in Atlanta, one may film in Jersey, one may film in New York, one may film in Savannah. We MIGHT be all at the same function maybe once, twice a year at the most.
Television shows like Jamie Oliver's 'Food Revolution' have made healthy eating both necessity and entertainment. Anyone who has watched a Paula Deen cooking show or special knows that your approach to cooking is much different. You've been called the "queen of cholesterol" by critics and fans alike.
PD: I don't let it bother me, I just laugh. I'm a firm believer that Southern cooking is not nearly as bad for you as people want to make it out to be. I would put my money up that we eat more vegetables than any region in the country. Y'all know that even if its got some ham hock in it, those vegetables are very good for your body. We don't, regardless of what people think, eat fried chicken at every meal. It's about moderation, it's all about moderation and then it's genetic.
My cholesterol is 137, so that ain't bad. You have to be responsible for yourself. You have to know your numbers and take care of your own dietary needs. No one can do that for ya. It's important that each person be familiar with their numbers, talk to their doctor and eat accordingly.
Regardless of what people think, we do not have fried chicken and biscuits everyday. Sometimes, we will just have a vegetable plate. It's not nearly as bad -- people joke on me! But it's alright, I just laugh along with it. But I'll tell you what -- I would rather have quality than quantity. I want to enjoy this beautiful life that God gave me. And do I have a news bulletin, you won't believe it, hold onto your chair -- none of us are getting out of here alive. So if I want a piece of fried chicken, I'm gonna have me a piece of fried chicken, but at the same time I'm gonna try and be responsible for myself.
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Yeah, Paula; you tell 'em, baby girl!
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Does this mean there may be a Paula Deen home decor television show in the future?
Life is so lonely. I'm a doctor, 31, rich but still single. It's hard to get a girlfriend in my town,m ost of them like my money more than like me. I just want to find my true love. so i uploaded my hot photos on M-E-E-T-R-I-C-H-E-S(C/-O/-M) under the name of hot561. maybe you are the one who i'm looking for!!!
I have made so many Paula Dean recipes.. they are soo good.. but I can't eat them every day without raising my own cholesterol.. so she must not eat her own stuff all the time either. My husband and I have been trying to change a few things..You see we have been trying to lose a few and one way to do it was to stop eating out as much... but that meant i was the one in the dang kitchen.. "I can't cook" my husband would whine to me.. so i said screw it and went out and got him this hilarious and totally politically incorrect cookbook.. I won't tell you the name of it on here cause some of you will freak, but if you have a sense of humor, and dont' get offended easily.. google "whipped and beaten culinary works" to find it.. but seriously.. it's not for the meek..
Do NOT go to the whipped and beaten site if you ever intend to use your hard drive again. That's why the URL is disallowed from being posted on aol.
does anyone actually care ??? I guess they do . My god this isnt news
Whipped and beaten is also a porn site. I've heard that some of the subjects don't look that old. That is why the URL can't be posted. AOL has a filter on it.
Her hubby and her are very fat, so eatting all her food is putting on the lbs. She is not such a good cook after all, all her recipes are junk food and fat! Can't stand to watch her as she is so loud.
PS You don't think she would reveal her real Cholesterol numbers do ya'll? It wouldn't sell her books.
Her cholestorol probably really is 137. Zocor will do that for you.
Any ones cholestrol can be low enough if you take enough medicine!!
LOVE YOU PAULA!! YOU DO US GEORGIANS PROUD!! :)
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Eww, shouty girl, aren't we?
Paula is a true Steel Magnolia, and I admire her for just being Paula and cooking delicious 'rations'...She is a winner..
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HEY OLLIE, I'M WITH YOU. HAVE YOU NOTICED ALL THE PEOPLE THAT ARE AGAINST HER, BECAUSE SHE IS NOT ONLY BEAUTIFUL, SUCCESSFUL AND HAS A T.V SHOW, BUT IS ALSO AN AWESOME SOUTHERN LADY...THEY DON'T WANT A REPLY. LAUGHING AT THE STUPID PIGS LOL.
you go girl
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I love Paula's recipes. Just sorry I couldn't get into her restaurant after driving from Philadelphia Pa to Savannah Ga just to eat there. Savannah was charming though.
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Why on earth would you drive from Philly to Savannah just to eat a meal? That's kind of silly.
I say she is flat out lying.
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Prove it.
Her cholesterol may be 137 but that doesn't make her any less annoying. That put-on southern accent and laughing like a hyena while drowning everything in melted butter are only a few of the reasons why she is unwatchable.
I wasn't lying. We actually drove to Grovetown, Ga. to pick up relatives then went to Savannah for a minivacation and we picked Savannah just to eat at Paula Deen's. We couldn't get in to eat but we bought autographed cookbooks.