About Ivy Odom
Ivy Odom has in many ways become the face of Southern Living. In addition to creating videos about all things Southern on social media, Ivy is a writer, recipe developer, and television host. And now she’s also an author, with a brand new cookbook called My Southern Kitchen: From Suppers to Celebrations, Recipes for Every Occasion. The book is a collection of Ivy’s favorites from a lifetime at the stove, starting with her childhood in Moultrie, Georgia, where she learned to cook and entertain from her parents and grandparents. She actually started off her college years thinking she’d be a home ec teacher, but an early mentor persuaded her to look at culinary school and food media as a better fit for her ambitions. She finished first in her class at L’ Academie de Cuisine in Gaithersburg, Maryland, and then, thankfully, she landed here at Southern Living.
What Ivy Odom Talks About On This Episode
- Growing up in Moultrie, Georgia
- How she learned to cook and entertain from her parents and grandparents
- Attending the University of Georgia
- Her path to culinary school
- Her Dad’s competition barbecue team called Butts Unlimited
- Her love of tailgating for the Georgia Bulldogs
- The astounding 18-layer chocolate cake that launched her career
- Her exciting new cookbook, My Southern Kitchen: From Suppers to Celebrations, Recipes for Every Occasion
Quotes From Ivy Odom
“I’m so proud to be from a town that I think is just like, everything about the south that I love. People are hospitable and warm and really just like, want to get to know you for who you are. It’s great.” – Ivy Odom
“This 18 layer chocolate cake, if you can imagine it, it kind of looks like a stack of pancakes with chocolate frosting in the middle of all of them. And it’s covered in chocolate frosting. For me, growing up in South Georgia, this cake was everywhere. Every birthday, every barbecue restaurant had it sliced on a styrofoam plate wrapped in plastic wrap for you to pick up as your dessert option at the meat-and-three or barbecue restaurant. This was at every church function. You name it, you could find the little layer or some people call it thin layer chocolate cake. It ranged anywhere from 10 layers. But you really, in my neck of the woods, never saw it less than 10 layers. Some people say, ‘Oh, that’s the same thing as a six layer, seven layer cake.’ No, these layers are way thinner. So 10 layers was kind of the lowest you would go really all the way up until 18. And it was my favorite dessert growing up. I loved it and I would request it for my birthday most years. I didn’t always get it, but that was my favorite year whenever we did get.” – Ivy Odom
About Biscuits & Jam
In the South, talking about food is personal. It’s a way of sharing your history, your family, your culture, and yourself. Each week Sid Evans, editor in chief of Southern Living, sits down with celebrity musicians to hear stories of how they grew up, what inspired them, and how they’ve been shaped by Southern culture. Sid takes us back to some of their most cherished memories and traditions, the family meals they still think about, and their favorite places to eat on the road. Download and listen to this episode of Biscuits & Jam with Ivy Odom on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or everywhere podcasts are available.
Editor’s Note: Please be mindful that this transcript does not go through our standard editorial process and may contain inaccuracies and grammatical errors.
