LaMont Burns is a renowned chef, restaurateur, and television personality.

But he is much more than that. Most importantly, Mr. Burns is heir to four generations of black culinary tradition that began over 150 years ago in the kitchen of a Tennessee plantation where his great-grandmother Miss Lucinda Macklin gained fame as one of the finest cooks of the Old South.

She passed on her recipes, secrets, techniques, and love of southern cuisine to her daughter Aussibelle who in turn shared them with her daughter (LaMont's mother), Thelma.

Here are those original, heirloom recipes and secrets of sauces, spices, and herbs presented with wit, warmth, pride, and love.

"This book," says Burns, "is a sort of love letter to Miss Lucinda, Miss Aussibelle, Miss Thelma, and generations of courageous, creative black women whose Southern cuisine cannot be forgotten."