Ni Hao, ya’ll!
Probably not the greeting you usually get, right? Well these two ladies are not your usual cooks either. Expect a unique and fun experience. When these ladies say they are “Southern Chinese cooks” they don’t mean south China. They mean “Buddha-to-Bubba” adventures melding the food and culture of two seemingly different cuisines.
The Chinese Southern Belles are a mother and daughter team: Margaret and Natalie Keng. They blend food, culture, travel and teaching into a fast paced tour de force. Margaret was a Cobb County Schools teacher in the gifted program for almost 20 years and now is a realtor and avid fisherman. Natalie is a Harvard Kennedy School graduate who specializes in multicultural communications and social marketing, and has served in public office. Together they are the Chinese Southern Belles and they have more energy that should be allowed by law.
Their first Buford Highway Farmers Market cooking class last week to teach spring rolls was a sellout. As Natalie put it, “We wok ‘n’ rolled 3 different kinds: Springrolls, traditional Eggrolls and tricky Thai/Vietnamese Fresh Basil Rolls.” And they were yummy too! When I talked to them just before class, Natalie’s first words were, “We didn’t plan this!” referring to mom and daughter’s matching pink and black outfits. But the rest of the class was well crafted and if there were occasional bumps, it just added to the fun. These ladies can roll with the punches.
Upcoming classes at the Buford Highway Farmers Market (Asian Hot Pot Party on Feb 16 and Dumplings on Feb 25) are sold out, but you can contact Natalie to get the newsletter and learn about future events, including free, Express Demos on Saturday afternoons at BuHi Farmers Market. If you have a group of your own, you can hire them for private Hot pot parties, Shop & Eat Market Fieldtrips, cooking classes or even teambuilding (I’d like to see my boss making eggrolls).
Here’s to cross-cultural friendships, with eggrolls ‘n’ sweet tea!
Reach Natalie at info@chinesesouthernbelle.com Phone: 404-494-0088 or Snail Mail: 2778 Cumberland Blvd., Suite 252, Smyrna, GA 30080
“Opening Minds, One Mouth at a Time.” This is my kind of cultural exchange. Hand me some chopsticks and a sweet tea.
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