Yes Irma, you were a gourmet!!!!

Gourmet refers to:

1. Someone who is a connoisseur of good food and drink.
2. Gourmet food is of the highest quality and flavor, prepared well and presented in an artful manner. 

Tonight I honor my grandmother, Irma Smith, an American original, a genuine gourmet. The above definition #1 truly encapsulates my grandmother...a connoisseur of good food and drink. A noon-time meal of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, field peas, fried okra and buttermilk biscuits served in her warm, North Florida kitchen was her stage and she performed daily with Tony-award winning talent! She nurtured my grandfather each day at noon as he came from the fields for sustenance so he would have energy  to endure the southern summer heat. She was a true gourmet with her good food and drink; her sweet tea was sweet enough to give you more energy than 10 "5 Hour Energy Drinks".

Definition #2, food of the highest quality and flavor. What could be more flavorful than fresh vegetables grown in her own garden? What could have more quality than hormone free chickens killed in the early morning hours, fried fresh and hot for the noon-time table? Presented in an artful manner on her Homer Laughlin dishes collected from soap detergent boxes in a 'poorer' time. Yes, Irma Smith was a true gourmet; a connoisseur of fine foods.

Please don't confuse her with the current, modern-day description of a gourmet. My husband and I enjoyed (consumed) a gourmet meal this evening. Yes, I admit I fell for the marketing term 'gourmet' when I purchased a Gourmet Slow Cooking Meal; all I had to do was add the meat! That should have been my clue...but it said, "all natural"! Can I not believe the packaging? No!  "Do not seek the treasure!!!" 

I have labored over what to call our new retail shop. Irma James Fine Foods is what I have concluded, but the Fine Foods must define her food:  simple, wholesome, healthy, nutritional, full of love and comfort! Only with your support will I be able to fulfill her legacy.