Special Feature
Alabama Cooking celebrity, Brenda Gantt came to Shelby County and wowed the crowd of 300 who came to see her all in the name of charity. The “Barbecue with Brenda” raised $33,000 for the Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Shelby County.
After a barbecue lunch at The Grande Hall at Mill Square, former news anchor and now publisher of Birmingham Christian Family Magazine, Laurie Stroud Franklin interviewed Brenda. The crowd enjoyed hearing about her newfound fame, her daily schedule, her favorite meals, her family, and her deep-rooted faith in God. Her homespun stories with her thick southern drawl lured her fans in closely as she told stories of her faith, her food, and her skillet skills.
When asked what her best meal is– one that she would serve if Jesus were coming to her house she said, “fried chicken, black-eyed peas, sliced tomatoes and fried okra.” Her favorite food to eat is chicken and dumplings. The first thing she encourages people to learn to cook is biscuits, “because then you can make so many other things like fried pies and dumplings,” Gantt said. Click here to find some of Gantt’s recipes.
Her daily schedule begins at 4 a.m. each day and her goal is to always to be a “lifter,” something she encouraged the audience members to be. “We need to lift each other up and be an encouragement to others,” said Gantt. Gantt’s first cookbook, It’s Gonna Be Good Ya’ll was recently released by Hoffman Media of Birmingham. Gantt said it took many hours to translate her stories and recipes.
She became a social media sensation during the pandemic when some young men in her church asked her to teach their wives to make biscuits. She made a video, posted it on Facebook and it went viral. Within two weeks, she had 1 million followers on her Facebook page – an accomplishment many national celebrities don’t have.
Carol Hill, an attendee at the event said, “Brenda Gantt was a great lunch hostess and a phenomenal speaker. She was just like I expected her to be, genuine, gracious and kind.” Hill added her deep appreciation for Gantt coming to Shelby County to help such a worthy cause.
The proceeds from the event went to the Shelby County Court Appointed Special Advocates of Shelby County (CASA). CASA’s mission is to prevent child abuse and neglect and to recruit and train volunteers to go through the court process with children who have been abused or neglected. They also offer several parenting classes throughout the year. Their goal is to ensure that every child has a safe and permanent home. CASA is funded in part by the Children’s Trust Fund, a Shelby County Community grant, local foundations, and the kindness of many individuals. To see how you can become a CASA Volunteer, visit www.casaofshelbycounty.org.
-Beth Chapman
Director, CASA of Shelby County
