Miss Robbie Montgomery, star of the Oprah Winfrey Network hit “Welcome to Sweetie Pie’s,” kicked off St. Louis Public Library’s Food for Thought: A Month of Culinary Events.
Montgomery first met with culinary students from Clyde C. Miller Career Academy and Beaumont High School on Thursday, March 6 at Central Library, 1301 Olive St. Montgomery said she was delighted to see so many students in chef’s jackets and asked how many aspired to open their own restaurants. Most of the students raised their hands.
“My mom used to say, ‘If opportunity don’t knock, then build your own door and kick it in,’” Montgomery said. “This is your dream. Nobody believes in you like you do.”
She learned her culinary skills from her mother, Ora Montgomery, and admitted a fondness for her mother’s homemade “ice-box lemon pie.”
Prior to the event, students were asked to submit a favorite family recipe and explain why it was special to them. Montgomery said it was hard narrowing her selections down to the top three. Jonice Langford, of Clyde C. Miller, won first place with her family’s corn casserole recipe.
“I made this at the restaurant, and we enjoyed it,” Montgomery told Langford.
Asia Edwards, of Clyde C. Miller, and Kayra Mosby, of Beaumont, were the other two winners.
At Montgomery’s public appearance on Saturday, she discussed her philosophy on life and her experience as a successful entrepreneur. She said she hopes that more people – particularly women and African Americans – will aspire to open their own businesses.
“That way we can empower the economy and get more people jobs, because there’s so many people out of work that it’s depressing,” she said.
She discussed what it is like starring in a hit TV show (which returns to the OWN Network for a new season on March 15) and gave the audience a sneak peek of what to expect this season. She said there is still an ongoing debate between her and her son, Tim Norman, as to whether they should expand Sweetie Pie’s into Houston or Los Angeles. She also said the audience can expect an announcement regarding the release of a cookbook.
Annie C. Schlafly, St. Louis Public Library Foundation board member, was instrumental in establishing Food for Thought, which was inspired by the library’s culinary collection, which marked its 25th anniversary this year.
Cathy Heimberger, director of marketing at the St. Louis Public Library, said the library’s goal is to expand the event into an annual celebration. This year’s theme is all about pastries.
Montgomery told the students that desserts are her favorite part of a meal and said she initially wanted to tap into the lucrative pastry industry by specializing in pies. That was before realizing that she could not build a business based on pies alone.
“I have to put the soul food in here to help the pies,” she said. “Well, the soul food took off and I haven’t got to the pies yet.”
For a complete listing of Food for Thought programs and events, visit slpl.org. The new season of “Welcome to Sweetie Pie’s” premieres Saturday, March 15 at 8 pm. Central.
