Atlanta chef’s new book inspires delectable brunches at home!
Anyone who snapped up Suzanne Vizethann’s Welcome to Buttermilk Kitchen already has many of the secrets that have made her Buttermilk Kitchen restaurant a success for 12 years. The 2020 book featured 100 favorite breakfast, lunch, dinner and leftover recipes from the Buckhead eatery.
Vizethann had so much fun with that project she’s launching a second book this month. Seasonal Brunch: A Year of Delicious Mornings from the Buttermilk Kitchen narrows the focus to the first meal of the day featuring fresh ingredients from each season.
“I did the first cookbook just because of a lot of people asking me to put my recipes down,” says the Atlanta native. “I found the whole process really rewarding and wanted to do a second one. Obviously, I am known for brunch food and knew I wanted to do a brunch book.”
The twist is the seasonal aspect, she says. “I didn’t think there were many books on the market doing that. So I went with recipes I serve in the restaurant as well as what I like to cook at home that show my style of using seasonal ingredients.”
It took a year of concentrated effort to produce the final version that had to be photographed each season to highlight the freshest ingredients. “Then you have to write it, test it, style it and shoot it,” she says. “It’s a lot of work, but I find it all really rewarding because I love being creative and all aspects of cooking.”
Vizethann calls the collection a “mixed bag” of recipes from restaurant specials to what she serves at home. Look for watermelon mimosas, heirloom tomato toasts, roasted squash oatmeal and chocolate hazelnut sticky cake, to name a few. Readers will also uncover a few surprises such as a corned beef hash inspired by the chef’s latest venture: running a Buttermilk Kitchen in Camden, Maine.
She and her husband, Ryan Barfield, moved to the Pine Tree State last year and gave an 81- year-old diner a major overhaul before introducing the locals to a taste of the South.
“We came up on a trip to visit friends and found this amazing community that looks like a postcard,” she says. “When we opened, I didn’t really know what was going to be popular, but they love the fried chicken and the grits. They don’t have as much of a sweet tooth as people in Atlanta, and they like big, strong, bold coffee. And of course, maple syrup is huge here.”
But she still comes to Atlanta every quarter. “I check in with my team and make sure everything’s running well because the best way to run a business is with a lot of solid communication.”
Vizethann is now looking to expand the concept’s e-commerce division. “I’d like to focus on things like our blueberry basil jam and prepared biscuit dough; I think those are great opportunities.”
As to her home state last year naming cornbread the official “bread” of Georgia, Vizethann has mixed feelings that biscuits were bypassed. “It’s really hard to pinpoint that for the state when you’ve got two staple Southern foods.”
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