My big year for Paula Deen was 2001, when I lived in Savannah, GA and discovered the Lady and Sons buffet on Congress Street complete with fried chicken, mashed potatoes, hoe cakes, cheesy biscuits, and banana pudding. During one trip up to the buffet, I actually spotted Paula Deen at a table and I went right up to her and told her how much I loved her food. She said she loved it too and that she could never seem to order off the menu because the buffet was so darn good. I loved her for talking to me with her sweet Southern drawl and I loved her for teaching me how to make mashed potatoes that my husband once proclaimed were better than his mother's! I think that sweet personality is what is so appealing to all the Americans who tune into her show and specials on Food Network. Sure, the food she cooks is shockingly fattening, but it's the company we seek, isn't it? Although, I did laugh when another blogger launched the Paula Deen Coronary Watch. Still, there's no doubt that 2005 was Paula Deen's year. Not only did Paula's Home Cooking get very popular, she also got a supporting role in a Cameron Crowe movie, Elizabethtown, starring Orlando Bloom!

Paula is rightfully listed on Pop Candy's list of Top 100 Entertainers of 2005, and there's even an interview with her over on the site. She, of course, is very grateful for her success and hints that she plans to launch a line of kitchen tools or dishes or something in 2006.