Chef Profile Video: Atlanta Virginia Willis Teaches Us to Catch and Cook
Known for biscuits, and rightfully so, Georgia-born Chef Virginia Willis figures she’s been making them the exact same way since she was three years old. That might sound like an exaggeration, but it’s fairly common in the south for mothers and grandmothers to start teaching the next generation how to roll out perfect biscuit dough as soon as they’re tall enough to see over the counter with the help of a milk crate or stack of phone books underfoot.
When you’re old enough to see over the countertop, you’re also old enough to hold a fishing pole. Virginia’s grandparents had a pond on their property, a place she still refers to as “perhaps my favorite place on earth.” It was on the banks of this pond that Virginia built the foundation of her role in the world outside of the kitchen as her grandfather explained the delicate balance of life beneath the surface of the water. Sometimes, you’ll catch a fish that’s too small. You throw that fish back and wait until it’s lived a little more life. Sometimes, there are too many fish in the pond. The humane thing to do is catch some and leave them on the banks to feed the wildlife and leave more resources for the fish in the pond.
Sure, these lessons from her grandfather instilled a passion to advocate for sustainable fishing practices, but we think she may have also translated the care for the resources left in the pond to her role in the culinary world. Virginia isn’t your typical restaurant chef like others featured in this series, she’s more of an ambassador for her slice of the culinary pie and her resume reads like a dizzying list of every possible job you can do in the food world outside of the kitchen from cookbook authoring, creating content and directing television kitchens for Food Network, food styling, and advocate work for causes ranging from Atlanta farmer’s markets to sustainable fishing to No Kid Hungry.
While she still carries her grandfather’s wisdom about the pond, she’s added her own advice: when you catch the fish, you should cook it. Cheers to that.
Raise a Glass featuring Chef Virginia Willis produced by Neon Bites for The James Beard Foundation and Rabbit Hole Distillery.
