Millie Carr
African American foodways, Des Moines
Millie Carr was born and reared in the Mississippi Delta where she grew up on her mother’s and grandmother’s cooking. She and her family moved to Des Moines when Millie was young. She followed in her mother’s footsteps and became a nurse and is still involved in home healthcare. But her heart and soul are in her food business, Something Good Catering.
Millie’s grandmother, Lillian, remains her spiritual and cooking inspiration for her filling and tasty Southern-style soul food. Sweet potato and pecan pies, a fried catfish that could inspire poetry, meltingly delicious red beans and rice, mixed greens, crispy okra, baked beans, smoky pork and beef barbecue, and more are the dishes that taste of home for Millie and her family.
Unlike most such cooks, however, Something Good offers a traditional down home menu with a twist. Millie, her son Garrett Boone, and her staff use vegetable oil instead of lard to fry and carefully crafted spice blends instead of lots of salt.
Millie Carr says she never cooks from a recipe. Instead, she likes to cook with her own instinct for what “tastes good and looks fresh.”
Contact: Millie Carr, legit4@juno.com.