Jennifer’s Bio

I was born in 1981 on an old plantation in a small town in south Mississippi.  The plantation once belonged to my French Creole ancestors who moved there after living in New Orleans for many years.  The youngest of three children, I was born into a family of privilege.  My father spoiled me rotten, and my mother tried to make me prim and proper as a Southern girl should be.  By the time I was 10, my father had taught me everything a Southern girl should know: how to wrestle an alligator, how to chase down shoplifters at his store, and how to cook up one fine, mouth-watering Louisiana file gumbo.

During my teenage years, one may say that I was a little on the rebellious side.  I tried everything there is to do in the Deep South except pageants, and it left me wanting something more, something different.  In the fall of 2000, I went off to the University of Southern Mississippi to study history.  It was during this time that I came to know the Lord and the exquisite recipes of the late Cajun chef Justin Wilson.  One transformed my life forever, the latter gave me a new passion, that of an amateur chef.  I immersed myself in every cookbook possible and indulged my love of cooking and experimentation with foods from other cultures.  And I finally found that something different, that odd mix of a Southern gentleman, wolverine & Henry Rollins — my husband.   Without much convincing, he swept me away upon graduating from USM to the lovely city of Athens, Georgia.

I have lived in Athens since 2005, and one can often find me cooking up some of my famous recipes for friends.  Everyone looks forward to my annual Cajun/Creole Christmas party, where I treat others to delicacies such as stuffed mirliton, seafood gumbo, jambalaya and beignets for dessert.  And one can’t forget the coffee with chicory and Louis Armstrong playing in the background.   It is often said – and I, too, believe — that “You haven’t tasted the essence of Louisiana until you’ve visited the Wootton kitchen!”o