Celebrity chef Paula Deen set a sumptuous table for a fan battling breast cancer, introducing the woman to the culinary delights of Southern cooking.

While discussing her new cookbook, "Favorite Recipes of The Lady & Her Friends," Deen told Hot Topics about the meal she made at the request of a friend from New York.

The friend told Deen that one of his friends had recently finished her last round of radiation treatment.

“He said, ‘Paula, she is a huge fan. I mean huge,'” Deen told Hot Topics.

So Deen went to work in the kitchen, preparing country fried steak, rice and gravy, fresh butter beans, baked sweet potatoes with brown sugar butter, deviled eggs and collard greens.

“And for dessert I made pear cobbler with pears that I had grown in my yard,” Deen told Hot Topics. “Deviled eggs from my chickens. So I really prepared them a very Southern meal.”

About the Author

Keep Reading

Make a lantern and join the Atlanta Beltline Parade on the Southwest Trail on Saturday, or watch the colorful procession go by. (Courtesy of Atlanta Beltline)

Credit: (Courtesy of Atlanta Beltline)

Featured

Demonstrators protest President Donald Trump and Elon Musk on Presidents Day in front of the Capitol in Atlanta on Monday, February 17, 2025, as part of nationwide demonstrations organized by the 50501 movement. (Arvin Temkar / AJC)

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC