You may know her for cooking with more butter than a dairy cow, but chef Paula Deen could be coming to a produce section near you. In an interview with the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Deen mentioned that she is "working with farmers and other food producers to come up with a line of fresh fruits and vegetables."
While chefs have endorsed plenty of frozen meals and processed foods, this is the first instance of branded produce that I can recall. Perhaps Deen was motivated by what transpired when she was a guest on The View last September. Co-host Barbara Walters chastized Deen for a cookbook aimed at children that had a number of fattening recipes.
Instead of cheesecake for breakfast, Deen can now tout her line of broccoli. That's the only fruit or vegetable specifically mentioned in the Times-Dispatch article. This wouldn't be the first endorsement deal for Deen. She already has her own line of ham products with Smithfield Foods.
Chefs have long been associated with what we bring into our kitchen. You can buy Rachael Ray's olive oil and Emeril Lagasse's pasta sauce. But chefs have also stuck to processed or frozen foods that are typically associated with the food they cook. Sauce is not a stretch for Emeril, and Ray has spent a decade educating viewers about extra virgin olive oil.
So, Fat City readers, would you be willing to buy branded fruit from and vegetables from Paula Deen?
[Image via Flickr: f_shields]
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