Publix supermarkets' local Apron Cooking School tapped into its long-standing relationship with Smithfield Foods to bring brand spokesperson and Food Network personality Paula Deen to South Florida on Thursday. The combined book signing and cooking demonstration attracted more than 240 people to St. Thomas Aquinas High School's Bienes Center for the Arts in Fort Lauderdale.
"Publix Apron Cooking School is all about learning to have fun in the kitchen and introducing our customers to every technique they can use to simplify their life, and we think Paula really exemplifies that and can really connect with our customers," said Kim Jaeger, media and community relations manager at Publix, who helped coordinate the event.
Earlier in the day, Publix and Smithfield representatives including Deen donated nearly 25,000 pounds of food to LifeNet 4 Families food bank as part of Smithfield's Helping Hungry Homes hunger-relief initiative. Nearly 50 people, including members of about 20 local media outlets, attended the ceremony.
The evening began with a nearly three-hour reception in the lobby of the performing arts center, where Publix provided light bites and cocktails while Deen signed books brought in by attendees and sold on site. The Southern chef also made an appearance at a V.I.P. reception held in a separate room for 40 people who purchased $250 floor seats in the auditorium. General admission tickets sold for $150 each and provided access to the main reception, book signing, and stadium seating in the theater. All ticket sales included a complimentary guest ticket.
The program began with the cooking school's resident chef, Bil Mitchell, educating attendees about the institution before introducing Deen, who prepared Smithfield bacon and mushroom stone-ground grits and chocolate peanut-butter gooey butter cakes during her nearly 90-minute demonstration, which she peppered with her signature wit.
