Well, Shut My Mouth! The Sweet Potatoes Restaurant Cookbook, by Chef Stephanie L. Tyson, is not just another soul-food cookbook. Sure, you’ll find the South’s best fried green tomato recipe in those pages, but you’ll also discover the spirit and backbone of the chef and her restaurant, Sweet Potatoes, co-owned by Tyson and Vivián Joiner. “This book is about remembering spirit and food,” says Chef Tyson. “It’s my perspective on Southern cuisine.”
Most recipes include some flavorful commentary from the chef, such as this tip for Spicy Greens: “If you are faint of heart (burn), eliminate the red pepper altogether.” But beyond the lip-smacking recipes like Gullah Shrimp and Crab Pilau, Cheerwine-Glazed Country Ham, and Miss Ora’s Best Fried Chicken in the Entire World, Well, Shut My Mouth! shares the history of the two women who started the locally and nationally acclaimed restaurant (Our State, Southern Living, New York Times).
Thanks to Well, Shut My Mouth! patrons can now recreate the Sweet Potatoes experience in their own kitchens. Readers and home chefs will eat this book right up.
What are people saying:
“Everything about this book is correct except the title. Anyone with a taste bud in their mouth
should follow these recipes and open their mouth.”
Maya Angelou
“From the very first moment I met Vivián and Stephanie and was lifted by the kitchen’s aroma, I was in love. Having produced the film Fried Green Tomatoes, and being something of an expert on their preparation throughout the South, I was enthralled with Stephanie’s delicious recipe. Her FGT are crisp on the outside and juicy on the inside. They have full flavor and are the best I have tasted anywhere outside of Idgie and Ruth’s Whistle Stop Café. However, you need to try the Fried Chicken and the Banana Pudding. They are a rustic Cordon Bleu education in themselves—simply amazing. Our family saves them for special occasions.”
Jordan Kerner, dean of the School of Filmmaking at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts
“The opening of Sweet Potatoes was a milestone event in the city’s efforts to revitalize Trade Street. Sweet Potatoes acted as a catalyst for the tremendous success of Winston-Salem’s Arts District. In the few short years of its existence, Sweet Potatoes has become an icon for our community and is an attraction known throughout the state.”
Allen Joines, mayor of Winston-Salem since 2001
