Virginia Willis

Title: Contributor, Recipe Developer

Location: Atlanta, Georgia

Education: B.A. in History, University of Georgia; Grande Diplôme, Culinary Arts/Chef Training, La Varenne; Certificate of Culinary Training, L'Academie de Cuisine

Expertise: Southern food and cooking, classic French cuisine, healthy cooking and baking
- Author of six books on cooking, including Bon Appétit, Y'all
- Frequent live and on-air speaker

Experience

Virginia Willis is a Food Network Kitchen chef and James Beard award-winning cookbook author. Her first cookbook, Bon Appétit, Y'all, premiered in 2008, and since then, she's developed a stellar reputation for chef-inspired recipes for home cooks. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, People, USA Today, EatingWell, Garden & Gun, Bon Appétit, Southern Living and many other publications.

In 2022, her health journey was documented in EatingWell magazine as a weight-loss success story. Virginia embraced her new outlook on life and became a cheerleader for those who want to make their own life changes. As she says, "If a French-trained Southern chef can do it, you can, too!"

This award-winning writer, author and food expert has almost 30 years of experience. Her first job cooking was behind the scenes of a PBS TV cooking show, and she hasn't looked back.

Since then, she was the TV kitchen director for Martha Stewart, Bobby Flay and Nathalie Dupree and executive producer for Epicurious TV on the Discovery Channel. She made cookies with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, foraged for berries in the Alaskan wilderness, harvested capers in Sicily, and beguiled celebrities such as Jane Fonda, Bill Clinton, Morgan Freeman and Julie Chrisley with her cooking.

Virginia is the author of Secrets of the Southern Table; Lighten Up, Y'all; Bon Appétit, Y'all; Basic to Brilliant, Y'all; Okra; and Grits.