Exclusive Interview: Paula's Party

By JULIETTE ROSSANT Are you craving more Paula Deen? That Southern matron-cum-cook who owns The Lady and Sons in Savanah, GA? Who hosts Paula's Home Cooking on the Food Network and stars in her own episode of Chefography? Who hawks kitchen products and magazine (Cooking with Paula Deen, from Hoffman Media)? Who has set up her sons, Bobbie and Jamie Deen, on their own Food Network show, Road Tasted. If you ever wanted to party with her, then her new show, Paula's Party, premiering on the Food Network at 10:00 p.m. EDT on September 29, 2006 (Friday), is the show for you. It is more of Paula, but more for adults: sassier, friskier, and a little more "romantical" (that's how Paula says it: what is "romantical" anyway, instead of romantic?). Paula's Party is partly aimed at Baby Boomers of a certain age, but there are plenty of younger people in the studio audience soaking up her homespun advice, that is part Dr. Phil and part Mother Knows Best. Paula told Superchefblog in a wide-ranging interview: We can't pin it down, My fans are 2 to 92. It's about love in the room that is the heart of the home. My audience is filled with young people, 20s, 40s, 50s, 60s. who have a zest for life. Paula's Party, which is introduced by a dancing Paula under a disco ball, is about spending time cooking food that is meant to enhance romance. The usual aphrodisacs and a few more unusual ones aboud. She and her husband, tugboat captain,Michael Groover, aka Mikey, cooking oxtails and very stuck-together rice. Then she makes grilled oysters swimming in butter and parmesan with her brother, Uncle Bubba Hiers, almost setting their restaurant, Uncle Bubba's Oyster House on fire. She even gets cozy in bed with a couple in her studio, fixing baked praline French toast for a romantic brunch in bed, as if they needed help under the blankets. That's Paula's favorite scene. Then she does a copy of a food competition a la Iron Chef, making a wedding cake batter in three minutes, with the help of the audience. It is not clear why anyone would want to make a wedding cake in three minutes, but that really isn't the point of the fun. At times the show is hysterical, embarrassing, and hokey in a Love Boat sort of way. Paula teases out appropriate come ons from the audience, some of which are sweet stories about how they met their mates. She seems to enjoy herself enormously flirting with everyone as she toss chocolate kiss cookies out to the audience. She shares anectdotes about Mikey romancing her, and does some cooking inbetween. What you learn about cooking you could slip through the eye of a needle. It's more about having fun. Spending time together in the kitchen. We have a lost generation, lost to fast food. I want to educate them about the importance of a family meal. A sentiment echoed by many serious chefs like Michael Schlow whose book, It's About Time is all about making time to cook and eat. Paula plans a children's cookbook and children products as she spends more time with her new one-month old grandson Jack. Southern baby food anyone? Paula wouldn't elaborate on her plans for another show that would take her away from cooking. She is aware of Rachel Ray's progress from cooking shows to interview show: We have certainly discussed that, and I don't want to do anything like her shows. I do have something in mind, but whether it come to be… it won't be a cooking show. I don't want to jinx it. The best part of Paula's Party, she says, is the studio audience. If anyone has Emeril Lagasse's magic with an audience, it's Paula Deen. What is her favorite Food Network Show? Her two son's Road Tasted, of course. But she also enjoys Throw Down with Bobby Flay . I don't watch Iron Chef America. Such pressure! It makes me sick to my stomach. I did that in my restaurant; that is way too stressful for me to enjoy. Paula said she is extremely excited about her upcoming memoir being published: I am excited, nervous, I have a lot of emotions about that. I tried to be honest, to walk down memory lane. I had a Jewish, Yankee writer, for this - Sherry Cohen. Life just runs through her. We got along great. She flies down to Savannah, we crawl on my bed, turn on tape recorder, and talked for hours. She's done a fabulous job. It sounds like me. Paula mentioned a forthcoming Christmas cookbook for next year, and she said that she had at least three more in mind. She is not, however, planning to expand with more restaurants. You know, I am kind of like Bobby, the restaurant business is excruciatingly hard. One is enough. Uncle Bubba's is a place to visit. There are so many other things I want to do. I don't have the time to devote to it. You need to be on site or things can be interpreted poorly. One thing she would jump at is another chance to be in the movies, following her performance as Aunt Dora in Cameron Crowe's film Elizabethtown last year. Her idea of the perfect part? An animated movie in which she plays the voice of a Southern lobster. Video: Paula's Party: Sneak Peek (WMV) Paula Deen interview (WMV) Previous articles: Rossant on Rachael Ray's Competition Jamie and Bobby Deen: Road Tasted Paula Deen & Friends [Food Television - complete] [Chefs & Branding - complete] Technorati Tags: superchefblog, Juliette Rossant, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, blogging, food blogging, Paula Deen --> back to superchefblog