"Thyme for Sharing with Lara Lyn Carter" Debuts Saturday

TV’s New Food and Wine Journey begins at Jefferson’s Monticello

By Doc Lawrence

Enjoying wine with Gabriele Rausse

Her professional career began on Albany, Georgia’s WALB-TV with a popular cooking show. Then came the acclaimed cookbook Southern Thymes Shared. Loaded with recipes, wine pairings and fascinating stories. Everything was practice, a warm-up for a vast new audience. This Saturday, June 13, Lara Lyn Carter goes statewide on Georgia Public Broadcasting’s new TV series, “Thymes Shared with Lara Lyn Carter.”

Insider buzz already applauds the production as original and refreshing. Ms. Carter says that the series incorporates her desire “to show the diversity of Southern foods, and pair dishes with wine, which has not been done before.”

The inaugural show begins at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello in Charlottesville, Virginia, an indicator that Ms. Carter, already an established TV celebrity, is a genuine force, perhaps the South’s fastest rising star chef.

Georgia Public Television (GPB) in announcing the show’s premiere says that Ms. Carter is “regarded as the go-to authority on Southern entertaining,” and that “each episode features chef Lara Lyn Carter as she travels to a different locale and introduces viewers to its local fare and signature dishes.”

Welcome to Monticello

With her trademark enthusiasm, Lara Lyn says that Thyme for Sharing is not just a cooking show: “Food is about more than preparation and eating. When I travel, one of the first things I do is plan the food itinerary. I like the idea of exploring locations and making people feel like they’ve actually experienced a place through the food.”

In the first episode of Thyme for Sharing, host Lara Lyn Carter explores an American shrine, Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, where wine with Southern cuisine was a regular dining experience. From Jefferson’s extensive notes, television viewers learn how America’s third president and author of the Declaration of Independence set the table and entertained guests with fresh foods from his gardens and orchards. Chef Lara Lyn then enjoys a glass of something wonderful with Gabriele Rausse, Monticello’s esteemed director of gardens and grounds and discusses Jefferson’s passion for wine. During the show, Lara Lyn resolves a historic debate: did Jefferson introduce ice cream to America? Enriched with knowledge, the show heads back to Lara Lyn’s home kitchen where she prepares an all-American dinner featuring herbed pork tenderloin, cornbread salad, and grown-up ice cream. Not surprisingly, wine that would please Thomas Jefferson is served.

Future episodes take chef Lara Lyn to Georgia’s Jekyll Island, Music City in Nashville and Gray Moss Plantation in Leslie, Georgia featuring her exploration of local fare and a return to her South Georgia home where she puts her own twist on signature dishes. In the end,  “thyme for sharing” is a well-appointed table, an exciting meal, and perfectly paired wines enjoyed with the good company of family and friends.

NOTE: For Father’s Day: Southern Thymes Shared showcases Lara Lyn Carter’s Southern recipes paired with appropriate wines. The beautiful book is available at Amazon.com and bookstores everywhere.