Baker-Cookbook: Savannah Heritage

A three-time winner of the Taste of Savannah People's Choice Awards, chef and restaurant owner John H. Baker III is a culinary innovator whose creations are anchored in the traditions of the Low Country cuisine of his native coastal Georgia. Baker has been featured on The Learning Channel, The Discovery Channel, HGTV, Public Television and QVC's "Cooking with Bob," and he has served celebrities from Barbra Streisand to Ben Affleck. But in a nod to his past, it's his family that he celebrates in his new cookbook, "Savannah Heritage: A Collection of My Grandmother's Recipes," which shares many of the treats he helped to prepare as a child on Daisy Baker's porch overlooking the Vernon River. From Crabmeat Mornay as an appetizer to Deep-Dish Oyster Rockefeller Casserole as a main course, the cookbook contains more than 200 recipes appropriate for preparing a dinner party or creating that something special to bring to the next holiday or family barbecue. "These are the recipes you've forgotten -- basic comfort food from Savannah's Low Country," Baker says.Today, Baker operates Queeny's to Go-Go, a Savannah restaurant specializing in soul food, and also owns a catering and event-planning business, John H. Baker III Creative Events & Marketing. He discovered his knack for serving large groups as a North Carolina prep school student, where he worked in a kitchen that fed more than 100 people each meal. He later worked in a country club kitchen down New Orleans' River Road - the same road where ancient Creole cooks used black iron frying pans, stirred gumbo and roux, and perfected the art of marrying grits with evening dinners. Baker incorporated that approach into his Low Country cooking style, but was drawn by the romance and charm back to his hometown, where he resides today.