Cooking with Brenda Gantt
B Y C A R O LY N D R I N K A R D
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ho would have ever thought that a grandmother making homemade buttermilk biscuits would become an overnight social media sensation? Probably no one, but that’s exactly what has happened to Brenda Gantt from Andalusia, Alabama. It all started when several young men at Bethany Baptist Church asked Brenda to teach their wives how to make her famous buttermilk biscuits. Brenda intended to hold a small session at their church, but suddenly, everyone was confined in their homes! With no way to meet in person, this former teacher decided to hold a virtual class. She filmed herself by holding her phone with her left hand and making biscuits with her right.
Within the space of two weeks, the Facebook page “Cooking with Brenda Gantt” garnered over 600,000 followers.
“It was awkward, “she laughed, “but I did it!” After posting and tagging the young wives, Brenda’s homemade video went viral, garnering over a million views and thousands of comments! “People said they had never seen biscuits done like that,” Brenda laughed. “I think viewers really thought, ‘Bless her heart, she doesn’t have but one hand. If she can do it, so can I!’” Friends and family urged Brenda to post more cooking videos, so Walt Merrill, her son-in-law, installed a hands-free phone holder, giving her the abili-
ty to move around more. He also made Brenda a new Facebook page, calling it “Cooking with Brenda Gantt.” In two weeks, the page had over 600,000 followers. Brenda Gantt’s cooking is well-known in her hometown of Andalusia, Alabama. For years, she and her late husband, George, catered for weddings and other special events. They also prepared Wednesday-night meals for Bethany Baptist Church. The Gantts owned the Cottle House, a popular bed-and-breakfast, and Brenda cooked breakfasts for visitors from all over the world. October 2020
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