Speaking to her fans, who kept on shouting words of encouragement, Deen said that the cards and letters she received were appreciated. “I’ve got so many friends. You’re all my friends,” she said before asking her husband Michael Groover to come up to the stage. “You just sit in this chair like a good boy.” Also in the audience was her aunt Peggy, Bubbles from her television show, and her new daughter-in-law Claudia.
In what became more revival meeting than cooking demonstration, a carried away fan shouted, “we want you back, Paula” to which Deen replied, “I’m coming back. I’m not a quitter.”
And with that, Paula Deen went into full warp drive as she and her sons prepared chicken and dumplings for the crown, made bawdy jokes and cackled that rich, joyous laugh.
Cobalt eyes sparkling, she introduced her good friend Robert Irvine, who could be seen waiting in the wings. Irvine, who was involved in his own controversy several years back when the chef embellished some facts on his bio, told Paula, “don’t do it again” before the clearly rehearsed (yet still wonderful) moment. As Deen announced, “Y’know, I truly am ready to get back in the saddle,” Irvine assumed the horsie position.
Instantly, a thousand iPhones were trained on the stage as Deen straddled the muscular Irvine and everyone’s favorite meme was repeated:
Deen, who was not granting interviews at the festival, just inked a $75 million deal with Najafi Companies to form Paula Deen Ventures, an umbrella company to oversee her restaurants, cookbooks, product endorsements, and any future television shows. If her comeback moment at the South Beach Food & Wine Festival is any indication, that’s money well spent.
Article Appeared @http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/shortorder/2014/02/sobewff_paula_deen_is_back_in.php?page=2