Athens-based cookbook author and television personality Rebecca Lang has built a brand around Southern cuisine and emphasizes the importance of “eating honestly.”
Rather than relying on processed foods, Lang follows her grandparents’ advice and buys locally produced, seasonal produce.
Lang always loved cooking, but it wasn’t until she took a cooking class in college that she realized her love of food was a passion she wanted to explore. Lang was a journalism student at the University of Georgia. However, she couldn’t find the food writing opportunity she was looking for. So she carved out her own path.
“I started down the path of understanding that I love food and I love writing. How can I merge those two?” Lang said. “At that time, there really wasn’t a clear path on the Grady River.” [College of Journalism & Mass Communication] At that time, there was no clear path even in the fields of family and consumer science, so I had to fumble around to find my own path. ”
When Lang was a junior at UGA, she decided to call Natalie Dupree, a famous Southern cook, author, and TV host. Dupree was a household name, known for his likeable personality and approachability on screen. Lang recalled her grandmother watching Dupree on TV with her religious beliefs.
“I felt like I knew her,” Lang said.
On a whim, Ms. Lang called Ms. Dupree and asked for advice on how to combine her two interests into a career.
“Whenever I don’t know where to go, how to do something, how to accomplish something, I feel like there are people willing to help me, willing to give me the tools I need. We have to find out who it is,” Lang said.
Dupree and Lang met over the phone, and shortly after, Lang started her as one of Dupree’s many apprentices. Dupree affectionately calls them her “little chickens.”
After working with Dupree, Lang forged a career of her own. She has published eight of her cookbooks, worked as a contributing editor for Southern Living, and she also served as a judge on Food Network’s “Chopped Junior.”
Lang explained that her cooking style is relaxed and often creates comforting dishes. But over the past 10 years, she has learned to eat and cook healthier foods. When creating her recipes (her favorite part of the cookbook-writing process, she says), Lang tries to choose vegetables grown within 10 miles of Athens. There is.
Jarrett Kemp, owner of Appointments at Five, has a copy of Lang’s book.
“It’s all about entertaining with Southern hospitality,” Kemp said. “So we love offering this service to guide our customers on how to set their table. And we love that she’s from Athens.”
When it comes to nutrition in Southern cuisine, Lang believes people should go back to basics and consider how their grandparents ate locally.
“Our grandparents knew exactly what was in season and where to eat, and they ate what was nearby out of necessity,” Lang said. “Now, it’s an even greater luxury to have clean, fresh food nearby. It’s much cheaper to buy processed food that’s trucked in from far away.”
Lang acknowledges that despite the region’s agricultural hub, shopping local is often an expensive luxury for Southerners. She blames this on the “broken” system of southern food deserts.
“I think it’s more important to eat something close to home, whether it’s organic or not,” Lang said. “For me, it’s more important that it’s nearby and that I’m not traveling long distances to get there.”
Lang’s latest cookbook, Pimento Cheese: Caviar of the South, is scheduled for release in fall 2025.
