Synopses & Reviews
When Heather Earnhardt opened her tiny, magical café, The Wandering Goose, in Seattle, she infused a little Southern comfort into the heart of a city that’s skies are often gray. Her specialty is biscuits, slathered with butter and homemade jam, piled high with fried chicken and bread-and-butter pickles, or country ham and an over-easy egg. In Big Food Big Love, this “red-dirt girl” shares stories from her childhood in the South and 130 recipes that contain a satisfying mix of nostalgic and traditional Southern favorites. Served up with a side of Southern charm, this is genuinely good and unfussy food that’s meant to be eaten with family and friends.
Born in North Carolina, Heather Earnhardt grew up with thick red dirt on her toes and food, food, and more food. Heather owns The Wandering Goose café and lives in Seattle with her husband and five children.
Review
"Big Food Big Love is more than a cookbook—Heather Earnhardt takes us on a journey into a way of life, featuring soulful recipes from The Wandering Goose matched with utterly delectable photos and interwoven with stories of people, places, and growing up in the South. Reading it makes me want to be in her world, live it, and cook every recipe in it, from simple biscuits and all the variations to classic American condiment staples—and of course the fantastic Brownstone Front Cake." Pichet Ong, chef consultant and author of The Sweet Spot
Review
"Heather calls her Southern-inflected food messy and loud. Try cooking a meal out of the book—from a platter of crispy hush puppies fried in a cast-iron skillet to a towering layer cake oozing with coconut frosting—and then squeeze everyone you care for around your table. Boisterous conversation, laughter, and memory-making festivities will ensue. Big Food Big Love indeed." Tom Douglas, chef/restaurateur
Review
"Filled with heartwarming and personal stories, Heather Earnhardt expresses pride in her Southern roots through Big Food Big Love. Her recipes and witty stories are a celebration of Southern hospitality, local ingredients, and good cooking." Chef Emeril Lagasse
About the Author
Heather L. Earnhardt grew up in North Carolina’s Piedmont, South Carolina’s Lowcountry, New Orleans’ bayou, and the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. She loves the voices of Southern storytellers and thinks that everything about morals, values, empathy, and courage can be learned from Lonesome Dove.
Heather is the owner of The Wandering Goose in Seattle where her Southern-belle roots shine through in her baking and cooking style, which is big, loud and full of flavor—yet refined underneath. The memories and stories of her Southern childhood are the foundation for Heather’s cooking and her family’s acts of love and generosity run deep in her veins.