Ex-Paula Deen Cook Launches Own Brand

A descendant of sharecroppers who spoke out about witnessing racism in Paula Deen’s kitchen has set out on her own, with a book titled A Real Southern Cook: In Her Savannah Kitchen. “Country people in the South had to make do with what was at hand, what they could grow or trade or preserve,” Dora Charles writes in the new book, set for release on the same date as Deen’s latest. “I see this food as a tribute to those who came before me, who worked so incredibly hard for so little.” Deen had referred to Charles as her “soul sister” before the latter came forward with her allegations and story of many years of labor for low wages.