Written by Shelley Skiles Sawyer

Photography by John Haigwood 

Mary Moore, founder and CEO of The Cook’s Warehouse and award-winning leader in the culinary industry, embodies our anniversary issue’s “Made From Scratch” theme. The area native grew up planting, harvesting and cooking side by side with her grandmother “Mimi,” her great aunts and her mom. Parlaying her experience with homegrown, homemade fare, she put herself through Georgia State by cooking full-time, working her way up through every possible position at award-winning restaurants Partners Morningside Café and Indigo Coastal Grill. Moore then worked with culinary darlings Edna Lewis and Scott Peacock at Harry’s Farmers Market, where she eventually served as director of research and development for the prestigious gourmet and fresh-food supplier. “Scott hired me because he liked the way I sprinkled salt,” recalls Moore, who says the inspiration for a kitchenware store hatched during her time at Harry’s. With her boss’s blessing, a lot of hard work (including friends and family who built out the store), and more than a sprinkling of naïveté, Moore opened the first The Cook’s Warehouse in 1995. She worked side jobs as a food stylist and hand model to keep the store open. ...

Excerpt is from an article featured in the Spring 2013 issue of Flavors Magazine, subscribe today and don't miss a single issue. 

“Red velvet cake always makes me think of spring,” says Mary Moore. When she was growing up, family traditions included birthday dinners with the guest of honor sitting at the head of the table. “We got to pick the menu, too. I always chose either Mimi’s pound cake or her red velvet cake,” says April-born Moore.