NEARLY TWO DECADES AGO, Taste of the South hit newsstands on a quest to spread the love of good Southern cooking. That inaugural issue featured a grand three-layered chocolate cake dripping with caramel sauce on the cover, a culinary journey through Lowcountry cooking, a weekend at South Pittsburg, Tennessee’s National Cornbread Festival, and a story on the origins of cornbread to boot. Autumnal delights filled pages with apple-studded desserts and easy-to-make family meals suitable for busy weeknights. Even in the premier issue, Taste of the South dove in headfirst, and devoted readers soon followed suit.
When began, few magazines devoted to Southern cooking were on the market, says Lorna magazine. But a demand for more classic Southern recipes was the driving force behind its founding. , a Hoffman Media publication that was founded in 1999, began including enticing recipes, and Lorna says readers wrote in wanting more. “So many of our Southern traditions are centered around food,” wrote Phyllis Hoffman DePiano, CEO of Hoffman Media, in the premier issue of . “Holiday gatherings always include food, and there are dishes that must be prepared in order for special occasions to feel, well, ‘special.’ Whether it’s fresh coconut cake or a favorite casserole, we Southerners like to celebrate with food, especially great food. readers are no exception and have asked for more quick, easy-to-prepare recipes for flavorful, Southern-style dishes—and that’s exactly how came to be!” Today, nearly 20 years later, the yearning for homespun, Southern-rooted recipes has only grown.
