Producer - Author - Editor - Food Stylist
Virginia Willis is the author of the acclaimed cookbook, Bon Appétit, Y’all! Three Generations of
Southern Cooking (Ten Speed Press, 2008).
A graduate of L'Academie de Cuisine and Ecole de Cuisine LaVarenne, Virginia produced Turner South’s Home Plate and the DVD Shirley Corriher’s Kitchen Secrets Revealed! Previously she honed her attention to detail as the Kitchen Director for Martha Stewart Living Television where she supervised the food segments for the Emmy-award winning television show. With MSLTV, Virginia was also responsible for preparing private meals and events for Martha and her guests -- including among others, President Clinton, Aretha Franklin, and Julia Child. As Executive Producer for Epicurious on The Discovery Channel, she traveled the world taping fantastic stories about food - from harvesting capers in the shadow of a smoldering volcano to making authentic mustard in Dijon.
Virginia's wide and varied food career started in Atlanta as an apprentice to Nathalie Dupree. She worked with Dupree on four PBS series and cookbooks, including the James Beard award-winning Comfortable Entertaining. She also spent several years as an editorial assistant with culinary authority Anne Willan on various projects including Cook It Right, an exhaustive tome that documents the various states of "doneness" (and over- and under-"doneness") of everything from whipped cream to braised pheasant.
She is a featured chef in Atlanta Cooks at Home, tester and editor for The All-New Joy of Cooking, author of Pasta Dinners 1,2,3, co-author of Home Plate Cooking, and weekly writer for The Atlanta Journal Constitution. Her work has also appeared in Country Living, Family Fun, and Edible Atlanta.
She has appeared on Real Simple Television, Martha Stewart Living Television, Home Plate, and in TV commercials for Duke’s Mayonnaise and Springer Mountain Farms All-Natural Chicken. As a nationally recognized culinary professional her client list includes The Atlanta Bread Company, Char-Broil, The Coca Cola Company, Denny’s, Disney World, Fresh Express, Logan’s Roadhouse, LongHorn Steakhouse, TGI Friday’s, Olive Garden, Ruby Tuesday, Texas Dairy Queen, Texas Roadhouse, Waffle House, Whole Foods Market, and WingZone.
Virginia is a president of the Atlanta chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier, a member of The Atlanta Community Food Bank Advisory Board, Georgia Organics, the International Association of Culinary Professionals, Southern Foodways Alliance, and Women Chefs and Restaurateurs.
For spokesperson inquiries, please contact: The Lisa Ekus Group
