Southern Roots: Recipes and Stories from Mama Dip's Daughter

From the daughter of the legendary Mildred “Mama Dip” Council, a heartfelt cookbook celebrating four generations of Black restaurateurs and the soulful recipes that nourished a community. 

For nearly fifty years, Mama Dip’s Kitchen wasn’t just one of Chapel Hill, North Carolina’s most beloved restaurants―it was an institution. In 1976, with just $64 and a lifetime of kitchen wisdom, Mildred “Mama Dip” Council opened the doors to a gathering place that fed the soul as much as the stomach. Her youngest daughter, Anita Spring Council, honed her skills as a chef within its walls, learning the secrets of the Southern kitchen at her mother’s side. Now, the inheritor of this incredible legacy steps forward to share her family’s story.

In her tenderhearted debut cookbook, Southern Roots, Spring offers more than 100 dishes grounded in the oral recipe-sharing tradition. It’s a collection filled with treasured family secrets and vignettes from her experience coming of age as a Black girl in the Jim Crow South, all brought to life with a thoughtful, modern approach to the classics.

The recipes invite you to create a vibrant Southern table, from mouthwatering starters like PIMENTO CHEESE BISCUITS to showstopping main courses like FRIED GREEN TOMATO PARMESAN and SMOTHERED FRIED CHICKEN WITH ANDOUILLE SAUSAGE. You’ll find these updated classics alongside sweets like the decadent GOAT CHEESE POUND CAKE that will wow even the most demanding guests.

Beyond the recipes and stunning, colorful photography, Southern Roots is a powerful tribute to a large, loving, and hardworking entrepreneurial family who left an indelible mark on Southern culinary history. Warm, accessible, and bursting with flavor, this rich cookbook introduces a powerful new voice in Southern food and inspires home cooks everywhere to celebrate the enduring joy of a shared meal.

75 photographs

Anita “Spring” Council is a chef and philanthropist based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. She is co–owner, with her siblings, of Mama Dip’s Kitchen.