“If you had asked me a year ago what ‘going viral’ meant, I couldn’t have told you,” Linda Skeens confesses in ner new cookbook, “Blue Ribbon Kitchen: Recipes and Tips From America’s Favorite County Fair Champion” (83 Press, $34.95).
No one, she continues, was more surprised than she was when she became an overnight internet legend in the summer of 2022. She had just swept the Virginia-Kentucky County Fair with wins in every place of every category of the baked goods division, and countless honors in the canned goods and crafts categories as well.
Mason Moussette, a Dallas radio host, wanted to feature the champion on her morning show, but contact information was scarce. So she turned to TikTok for help. An influencer named Jordan Keyes stepped up by posting a song he composed, “The Ballad of Linda Skeens: The Most Dominant County Fair Baker of All Time.” Comments and memes pleading for her identity — and recipes — poured in.
Moussette finally tracked down her phone number and gave her a call. The then-74-year-old Appalachian grandmother — who’d been too busy canning bread-and-butter pickles and perfecting peach hand pies to bother with social media — agreed to an interview. Since then, she’s shared her story on The Today Show and countless other broadcasts and publications coast to coast.
And now, by popular demand, her story and prize-winning entries have been packaged in a big, beautiful cookbook. Along with prizewinners such as Cornflake Clusters, Strawberry Fudge, and Red Chili Biscuits, you’ll find simple family favorites including Weenies in BBQ Sauce, Hashbrown Potato Casserole, and Nutty Buddy Pie.
More than that, you’ll learn about the joys and heartaches of daily life in a close-knit coal mining family in the Appalachian hollow (aka “holler”), in pages peppered with her sunny poetry, favorite scripture, and snapshots of favorite pets, car club picnics, weekly card games, and creative craft projects such as her snowman decoration made from a paint roller.
Whether or not you’ve ever aspired to compete in a county fair, it’s heartwarming to read how a humble homemaker could become queen of the internet without even setting up a password.
Susan Puckett is a cookbook author and former food editor of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Follow her at susanpuckett.com.
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