Hey Y’all! Even as I type those words, I can hear Paula Deen’s drawldrenched voice and see those gleaming blue eyes. It was 2003 when I first met this talented entrepreneur. I was working on a travel piece in Savannah, Georgia, where her restaurant, The Lady & Sons, was the talk of the town. My mother had seen her television show on the Food Network, loved it—especially her use of “two sticks o’ butter”—and upon discovering my destination, insisted that I track her down and at least get an autographed cookbook. Clearly, mothers know best, and when I met Paula at her home for an interview, I, too, became an instant fan.
In Southern Lady’s March/April 2004 issue, we ran a feature article on the business-savvy chef, who, at the…
