- Filming in Summit for “Southern Soul with a Cajun Twist” will begin on August 18.
From her kitchen in Pike County, Sophie Marie Lyons can hardly believe her own life. “I could never have dreamed anything this big,” she says enthusiastically. “This is all God!”
Born in Detroit, Sophie Marie says Pike County raised her.
“I have always had family in Summit.”
Like most Southern girls, she learned to cook by watching her mother, Joyce Landrews.
“My mother prepared everything from scratch. She could take a plain package of spaghetti and turn it into a gourmet meal. For her, it wasn’t what she had, it was what she did with what she had. And she could do wonders.”
Yet being in the kitchen wasn’t what drove Sophia Marie.
“I was a traveling hairstylist, and I went wherever the job took me.”
One of those opportunities led her to Colorado, where she was doing hair while working for a major corporation.
“I also did a little side hustle, preparing lunches at low cost for the people I worked with. People always loved my potato salad. People told me that was my gift, and it began to spread by word of mouth. I heard time and again that I should go to culinary school.”
While she was flattered, culinary school was not on Sophia Marie’s radar. Her mother’s health was declining, and she relocated to Mississippi to care for her. When the time came for Sophia Marie to think about her future, she was reminded by the Holy Spirit about the conversation with her coworkers back in Colorado about her cooking being her gift.
“He reminded me of how my food made people feel.”
She applied for the Auguste Escoffier school in Boulder, Colorado.
“It was very expensive, but God got me into that school,” she says.
She spent five years studying at the school, including time she took off to return home to care for her mother before she transitioned.
“Cooking saved my life.”
Sophia Marie returned to Mississippi and opened a catering company called Katered Eatz. She had an opportunity to do a major catering job at Howard University in Washington, D.C.
“My nephew worked for the United Negro College Fund, and he made the connection. I collaborated with the president of the college to feed 200 Target Scholars. We nailed it!”
Last year, the Eat This TV network found Sophia Maria through her social media. Her personality and ability to share recipes with viewers made her stand out.
“They were doing a soul food series on their network, and the producers said they had been following me for a while.”
A pilot episode was produced and the ratings came back in the 99th percentile.
“They said it surpassed all their expectations, and they came back with a 12-episode contract for a show that will run during prime time.”
After some back-and-forth negotiations, Sophia Marie says the network is bringing their production of Southern Soul with a Cajun Twist to Summit.
“This will be a show produced in Mississippi,” she proudly proclaims. “I am still on a high, and I have so much work to do!”
Filming for the show will begin on August 18.
“I did this all through obedience to His word. I didn’t have all the answers, but for me, this journey is about inspiration. I am excited about all the lives that I’m impacting. My gift, my culinary art, will be seen by people all over the world. I moved on the faith of a mustard seed.”
Her husband, Samuel Lyons, designed her website, and the Pike School of Art helped sponsor her through their Fern Fund. By just doing what she does best, Sophia Marie has become a hometown sensation.
Susan Marquez
