Some of the best cooks you’ll ever find are the ones who you’ve never heard of. They didn’t go to culinary school and don’t own big restaurants, yet in their respective towns, they’re local legends for their perfect fudge and spectacular springtime strawberry preserves. This was the case for Appalachian grandmother Linda Skeens before the world caught on to the deliciousness that she’d been cooking in Virginia for decades.
It all began last summer when the Virginia Kentucky District Fair posted the results of their annual cooking competition to Facebook for the very first time. At that particular fair, Linda Skeens earned first place in cakes, pies,
