Name: Rebecca Long (Becky)
Hometown: Greenwood, Mississippi
Who is your favorite cook? My Momma!
What kitchen tool could you not live without? My 5” Santoku knife—it’s the perfect size to cut almost everything.
How did you get into cooking? My Momma taught me how to cook at an early age. And I hated my second waitressing job (Olive Garden), so I started working in the prep kitchen. Been in the back of the house ever since.
What’s your favorite flavor combo? Coconut milk, curry, peanuttiness, and fresh basil. Or good olive oil, fresh garlic, and lemon juice.
Name three items in your fridge: Eggs, PBR, and Bacon (a.k.a. “meat candy”).
Where do you get your best recipe ideas? Cookbooks. I’ll peruse recipes for hours sometimes. My favorites for the past ten years have been The Mediterranean Diet Cookbook by Nancy Harmon Jenkins, and a Southern stand-by, Bell’s Best.
What is the best meal you’ve ever eaten? Maharaja’s Chicken Tikka Masala—it’s the “best meal ever” every time I order it.
Personal specialties: Soups, cream sauces, traditional foods from around the Mediterranean, and a lot of old school Southern stuff.
Favorite midnight snack: Ramen stir-fried with egg and vegetables…or milk and cereal.
Favorite kitchen music: Bob Marley, Weezer, Pixies…this list could go on for a very long time.
Where do you like to dine in Oxford? Volta, Ajax, Two Stick, Taqueria El Milagro, Blind Pig, and MAHARAJA!
Favorite restaurant in the world? Tie between Thai Kum Koon in Norman, Oklahoma, and the now-defunct Cotton Patch formerly in Greenwood.
Fried catfish: eat the tail or not? “No-can-doosville, baby doll.”
