Lunching with the Cheese Biscuit Queen

 by Paula Gail Benson

A portrait of Mary Martha Greene from her website

For the second time, our Palmetto Chapter of Sisters in Crime (based in Columbia, S.C.) welcomed acclaimed cookbook author Mary Martha Greene a.k.a. the Cheese Biscuit Queen to talk about her new book. On her first visit, she told us about writing her debut work, The Cheese Biscuit Queen Tells All: Southern Recipes, Sweet Remembrances, and a Little Rambunctious Behavior. This time, we heard about The Cheese Biscuit Queen, Kiss My Aspic!: Southern Recipes, Saucy Stories, and More Rambunctious Behavior, which technically releases today. We were especially delighted to be the first South Carolina group she spoke with about the book (she had done a presentation on Amelia Island, Georgia), and we were thrilled to get to sample her famous cheese biscuits.

Perhaps you’re asking why a group interested in crime fiction would have a program featuring a cookbook author (or, perhaps it seems obvious, considering all the cozy mysteries that contain recipes). But Mary’s work is significant not only for the food, but also for the stories she tells about her family and her work as a lobbyist before the state legislature. Published by the University of South Carolina Press, Mary’s books describe both the art of entertaining along with cultural and historical incidents that shaped her life.

Mary had long been familiar with the recipes prepared by her mother and aunt, but it wasn’t until her goddaughter said, “I want you to teach me how to cook,” that Mary thought of writing them down and compiling them. Writing down the memories that accompanied the food preparation was a natural.

From an early age, Mary understood the value of being able to tell a good story. As a child, she and her brother would go grocery shopping with her mother. They would remain in the car with their grandmother, who had them “people watch” and “fill in the blanks” of what they thought the people were doing. Why did this man go to the store? (The answer was usually to get items to make a cake.) What kind of a cake and for whom?

Mary and her brother were trained to use their imaginations. Mary mentioned she someday hoped to publish fiction. With her knowledge of how to spin a tale, I have no doubt her stories will be well received.

When asked about a particularly memorable experience that developed from her writing, Mary described having the opportunity to meet and interview Jacques Pepin, the famous chef, author, artist, and television partner of Julia Child. To prepare for the task, Mary read his biography. When she mentioned it at the interview, he corrected her. It was a cooking memoir, not a biography, because it did not chronicle his sex life.

Jacques Pepin--Wikipedia

She reminded him of his experience as a young boy in liberated France. His first chewing gum and chocolate came from the soldiers. (He shared the chewed stick of gum back and forth with his brother.) At the end of the interview, Mary gave him a stick of gum and a chocolate bar. In response, he kissed her hand.

I’m truly looking forward to reading the new book and trying the recipes. If you ever have the chance to hear Mary Martha Greene, go! You’ll love the stories she tells as much as her delicious food.

Has your reading (fiction or nonfiction) lead you to try different cuisines?