Photo by Regina Charboneau
To try Natchez's famous biscuits, click here for a recipe.
The first time I left Natchez, Mississippi (the Biscuit Capital of the World) to venture out on my own, I quickly found out I had also left the center of the universe. In Alaska, where I went to earn money to go to cooking school in Paris (another story), there would be the random connection of a friend of a friend or the meeting of a friend of my parents.
In Paris there was the connection of a family to my family who I ended up living with while attending LaVarenne. In San Francisco, where I opened my first restaurant, Regina's at the Regis, I was always amazed at how many people that came into my restaurant that were from Natchez, had been to Natchez, or wanted to go to Natchez to visit the historic homes during Spring pilgrimage.
Now that I am back living in Natchez my theory has become even more apparent. The most current example:
My friend Peggy Pierrepont, who left New York to reside in Natchez, has been telling me for eight years that I needed to meet her friend Corby Kummer. In May of this year, I was guest Chef at the Monterey Bay Aquarium for their annual Cooking for Solutions. That all came about when a San Francisco friend Pastry Chef Jim Dodge made a quick trip to Natchez to visit me. Once I arrived in Monterey...there was once again another Natchez connection. One of the guest speakers was Corby. We met we talked a lot about Peggy and a bit about food and of course Natchez.