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Martha Foose    

Former Executive Chef of the Viking Cooking School & Author of "A Southerly Course"

Chef Foose is the former Executive Chef of the Viking Cooking School where she oversaw the development of recipes and menus taught to over 67,000 students who attend the school annually. Chef Foose is also owner of the Mockingbird Bakery in Greenwood, an artisan bakery specializing in unique breads, pastries and gourmet cuisine

Martha Hall Foose is the James Beard Award–winning author of the bestselling cookbooks Screen Doors & Sweet Tea and A Southerly Course. The former executive chef of the Viking Cooking School, Martha was a food stylist for the movie The Help, based on the bestselling novel of the same name.

Mississippi native Martha Hall Foose began her cooking career as a pastry chef at the renowned La Brea Bakery in Los Angeles. After studying at Ecole lNotre in Plaisir, France she returned to Mississippi and founded Bottletree Bakery in Oxford, Mississippi.

Marthas varied culinary career also includes a stint as a cookbook writer and editor for The Pillsbury Company in Minneapolis. After having cooked from Austin to Aspen and Burlington to Paris, Martha decided, theres no place like home and returned to the Mississippi Delta where she lives with her husband Donald and their baby Joe in Greenwood.

Martha has been on the opening team of The Alluvian hotel and Giardinas restaurant. She and her husband Donald own and operate The Mockingbird Bakery in downtown Greenwood. This artisan bakery specializes in unique breads, pastries and gourmet cuisine.

Speech Topics


Preparing the Perfect Picnic, Cooking Delicacies from the Delta, and What to Know About Southern BBQ

How to Make a Signature Southern Dessert

Bringing Homespun Flavor to Your Cookout

Quick, Simple Recipes for Southern Cuisine

How to be a Great Food Stylist

Telling Stories Around the Table

Martha explores the long held tradition of Southern storytelling and the relation of food and fiction in the American South.

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Traveling Foodways Close to Home

Martha shares her stories and recipes from the deep South. For years Martha has traveled about the Southern U.S. collecting stories and recipes. Here she shares the funny and touching tales of her beloved homeland.

Heirloom Recipes

Martha will guide home cooks in collecting and writing their family cookbook. Martha shares tips and instructs how to collect the recipes and stories that need to be passed down.

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