Today’s guest is Spring Council, a chef, cooking instructor, former restaurateur, and the daughter of legendary Southern chef Mildred “Mama Dip” Council of Mama Dip’s Kitchen in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Spring just released her debut cookbook, “Southern Roots: Recipes and Stories from Mama Dip’s Daughter,” celebrating four generations of Black restaurateurs and the community her family nourished through food.

Spring joins host Jessie Sheehan to talk about growing up the youngest of eight in a family of cooks, learning through “dump cooking” and oral recipe sharing, and watching her mother build a beloved restaurant with just $64.

She also walks Jessie through her Chocolate Bread Pudding with Candied Bacon from “Southern Roots.” This dish features grated bread for a tender, almost cake-like texture, plus bourbon, maple syrup, chocolate, and salty-sweet bacon. Spring explains why she uses breadcrumbs instead of cubes, how baking powder changes the structure of the pudding, and why the inclusion of bourbon makes this dish unforgettable.

Click here for Spring’s Chocolate Bread Pudding with Candied Bacon recipe. 

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More on Spring: Instagram, website, “Southern Roots” cookbook