Mother Wade, Owner Of Iconic Chatham Restaurant Josephine's Southern Cooking, Honored For Decades Of Dedication To Cuisine
CHICAGO (CBS) -- She's fed everyone at her restaurant, from the South Side to the West Side, celebrities and dignitaries to diners from the neighborhood, and they're all celebrating Josephine Wade.
This chef and restaurateur is so beloved, she's known as Mother Wade.
She was honored Thursday by Savor Our World for her decades of dedication to the culinary arts and the South Side.
She's also been included in the Savor Our World cookbook.
Mother Wade's restaurant, Josephine's Southern Cooking, has been a staple in the Chatham neighborhood for more than 30 years.
She also has an outlet at McCormick Place.
Mother Wade said being included in the cookbook will bring her the kind of attention she's struggled to find.
"I soon will be 80 years old. I waited a lifetime to be known in a book of anything around the country. So this is indeed an honor for me, because you see celebrities that came behind you, such as Martha Stewart and others, I was cooking long before they were born. But when you don't have the tools, and the vehicle … to do the things that lead you to be pushed forward to get your name in a world book such as this, or anything, when those avenues are not open for us, then we don't have those opportunities," she said. "They have a llowed me to grow, and I really, really, really honestly think I can fly now. Because I want this door to be open for other young ladies to start cooking in their mother's kitchen. I started when I was 13, cooking, and I always knew that I have a vision one day to own a restaurant."
As its name suggests, Savor Our World features recipes from around the globe.
