"Sandra Williams is retired now from the Cobb County school system. While she was at Sprayberry High School, she taught her cooking students not only how to cook but also table manners, how to set a table and greet guests, etc.

"To make sure they applied their knowledge, the community was invited in every Wednesday at noon to a sit-down lunch with decor to match a well-heeled restaurant, delicious food, excellent service and fine comfort and relaxation. I was a pastor at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, and we on the staff looked forward to Wednesdays not just because we helped Sandra to shape the students but also because we were being taught as well.

"Recently I was with Sandra early on a Saturday morning, and she had already baked 33 pies for a sell-off at the church the next day. And on the day before, she had baked at least as many. Sandra has multiple sclerosis, but one would hardly realize this. She is busy and active and keeps cooking and sharing with people in an ever-widening circle."

Good food and good deeds go together for Sandra Williams. Food is the medium she uses to spread the word about the good life and the means to help with a worthy cause. Her love of people and good food have made a lasting impression on her former students, many friends and the scores of people she has helped along the way.

Family/background: "We lived in northwest Ohio, in farm country. I graduated from Ohio State University in 1964 with a B.S. degree in home economics education. Ralph is my very patient husband of 39 years. We have three wonderful daughters. One is a science teacher in Cobb County, one is an ER nurse at Atlanta Regional Medical and the third works for Bank of America in Charlotte. They are all good cooks."

Career: "I taught home economics for 25 years. I was diagnosed with MS in 1989 and had to give up my teaching career in 1995."

Hobbies, interests: "Gardening. I love flower gardening. That's my therapy. I love cards -- pinochle and bridge. I do sewing, and of course I do a lot of cooking for my church."

Who taught you to cook? "My mother. I started cooking when I was 5 years old. I never liked dolls or playing with make-believe toys. I wanted the real thing. I baked my first cookies from scratch in second grade, my first cake in the third and my first pie and yeast rolls in the fourth. The pie was cherry. We had a cherry tree in the back yard. I was in 4-H for six years. In the eighth grade, my mother went back to work, so I took over preparing meals. She would leave money, and I would plan accordingly. By the time I was in high school, I knew I wanted to major in home economics."

Culinary roots: "Midwest, farm food. My great-great-grandparents were from Switzerland, so that is probably where I get my love of chocolate."

Cooking style: "I do everything and will try anything. Back before you could get Chinese ingredients in the stores, I had this recipe I wanted to try. I made 90 egg roll skins and filled them, and 45 won ton skins. My family is very brave. They will try anything I fix."

Culinary achievements: "Six years ago, I organized a fund-raiser at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church for the granddaughter of one of our members who was 2 years old and suffering from neuroblastoma. After surgery and many, many trips to New York City to Sloan-Kettering Hospital, she is doing fine and is in school. We raised $18,000 with my barbecue chicken [see recipe]. My mother got this recipe from the Metropolitan Cook Book and served it at my high school graduation party 43 years ago. It was a big hit then, and I've been serving it ever since."

For whom do you cook? "My family. If I could, I would have company every night for dinner. I love entertaining, parties on the deck or supper at the kitchen table or a dinner party in the dining room. For our 25th wedding anniversary, I invited two couples for dinner, and I cooked the same thing we had for our honeymoon supper. We ate at a restaurant in Mansfield, Ohio, at about 12:30 at night and had homemade vegetable soup and grilled cheese sandwiches."

What is the most enjoyable aspect of cooking? "I dearly love cooking for people and doing for those in need. Whether it is someone ill, suffering from the death of a loved one, or a birthday or anniversary or any special occasion."

What is your favorite thing to cook? "I really love baking pies. If you're making one pie, you might just as well make several, because you already have the flour mess. In August, when we had our bake sale at church, I made 36 pies; 16 of them were rhubarb. Our women's group made $1,000, which we gave to a member who was having a kidney transplant."

What is your favorite thing to eat? "Chicken."

Memorable flop: "The worst flop I ever had occurred in 1965. I was preparing Sloppy Joes and at the same time I was making congealed strawberry gelatin salad. I opened a can of tomato sauce for the Sloppy Joes and so nicely dumped it in the strawberry mixture. Of course, I had to throw it away."

What's the best part of your kitchen? "My husband redid our kitchen about six years ago. He did all the work himself from March to November. It's not very fancy, just a basic kitchen, but I love all of it."

Do you have a tip for today's cooks? "Watch the Food Channel. I often watch it as I am ironing or sewing. You can learn something each time you watch those shows."

Favorite cookbook: "I have about 300 cookbooks and read them like novels. You learn a lot about a culture and its history from cookbooks. If I had to pick a favorite, it would be 'Betty Crocker's Picture Cookbook' (Betty Crocker, $29.95). I have the last four editions plus all the other cookbooks she has published. For anyone who doesn't know much about cooking, I would recommend that book. I often give it as a shower gift."

-- Betty Parham

Who are the best cooks? We're looking for Georgia home cooks who deserve recognition for their talents and who have interesting recipes to share. Fax at 404-526-5509, e-mail kitchen@ajc.com or write to Betty Parham, Food Department, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 72 Marietta St. N.W., Atlanta, GA 30303. Give us your name and phone number, as well as the name and number of the cook you'd like us to consider. And tell us a little about what makes this cook special.