Mothers’ Club Cookbook:

The reprinting of "Southern Secrets" was a special treat for the 2009 Holiday Mart. The cookbook, which costs $20, is on sale at USJ.

Patsy Camp finds it hard to believe that her favorite cookbook and labor of love, Southern Secrets, is turning the big 3-0 this year. To celebrate the milestone, the cookbook is coming back once again and will be available for purchase at the Holiday Mart.

Camp, who designed the original cookbook’s cover and artwork, remembers the countless hours the Mothers’ Club put into developing Southern Secrets so it could raise money for what was then Episcopal Day School.

“Our main goal for the cookbook was to raise money for the school,” she said. “It took Ann Barker and her committee about two years to gather all of the recipes, taste them, then type the ones that made it into the cookbook. We even did our own proofreading to save money. It was a real group effort; one that we are all proud of and that has stood the test of time.”

The second edition, called Southern Secrets and More, was published in 1996; the two editions combined have sold more than 25,000 copies. Recipes from the cookbook will be featured at the 2009 Holiday Mart events.

Making the cookbook such a success were the tried and true recipes submitted by the school’s families. It includes such famous past Tea Room recipes as Ann Avent’s “Saint Paul’s Heaven,” Linda Hayes’ “Chicken with a Difference,” and Betsy Cox’s “Chess Squares,” who, when asked why she selected that recipe to submit, said “it was my mother’s recipe from Martin. My four boys loved it, and it was easy.”

The original Southern Secrets continues to be a favorite in many kitchens. “We found that we had created something that has been used throughout the years,” Camp said. “Many of us have had to buy a second copy because we wore the first one out. I think it is great and still use mine.”