Gwen McKee
Gwen
McKee is a publisher with a mission. As the co-founder (with her
husband, Barney) and the editor-in-chief of Quail Ridge Press, she has
dedicated the past two decades to preserving America's food heritage.
Through Quail Ridge Press, Gwen has now accomplished much of this task
by creating the 50-volume Best of the Best State Cookbook Series
that includes over 20,000 classic recipes. Today Quail Ridge Press is
one of the most successful regional publishers, and certainly one of the
most thriving publishing houses owned by a woman.

Gwen's interest in preserving "real" American
food came naturally. Like most native Southerners, she was influenced by
a family immersed in the traditions of Southern cooking and
entertaining. Over a period of many years, Gwen collected recipes that
were handed down through her family for traditional holidays and
reunions.
Gwen McKee's first venture in publishing came
after she and Barney moved to Jackson, Mississippi, when he became
Director of the University Press of Mississippi. She was approached by
two ladies, Ruth Moorman and Lalla Williams, with a small 80-page
manuscript called The Twelve Days of Christmas Cookbook.
Risking her family's meager savings, Gwen published the book, which sold
out in three weeks. She knew that she had tapped into a market seeking
something different. For the next few years, she slowly expanded,
publishing four additional theme cookbooks.
Four
years later Barney had joined Gwen, and they now had a full-blown
publishing company named after the street where they lived, Quail Ridge
Drive. They also had a unique idea--a cookbook that celebrated the best
recipes from all the best cookbooks in Mississippi. After extensive
research throughout the state, and lots of recipe testing, Best of the Best from Mississippi Cookbook was published. Thus Gwen McKee began her quest to preserve the best recipes of America. Now, 28 years later, 48 volumes in the Best of the Best State Cookbook Series are currently in print, each featuring favorite recipes from the leading cookbooks found throughout every state in the country.
In 1997 Quail Ridge Press and Gwen reached an entirely new plateau when the QVC selected Best of the Best from Mississippi Cookbook
as the winner of its "Quest for America's Best--QVC's 50 in 50 Tour"
contest. The book sold out within two minutes during its first
appearance, and remained a favorite that sold out many times afterward
in subsequent showings. This initiated a series of QVC presentations in
which over 175,000 Best of the Best cookbooks were sold over the next
three years.

In 1999 Gwen McKee took another important step in reaching her goal by creating the Recipe Hall of Fame Collection. The Recipe Hall of Fame Cookbook, featuring 450 winning recipes from all the Best of the Best state
books, was an instant hit, selling 65,000 copies within the first few
months of publication. With over 700,000 copies in print, the collection
now includes Recipe Hall of Fame Dessert Cookbook, Recipe Hall of Fame Quick & Easy Cookbook, and Recipe Hall of Fame Cookbook II in addition to the original Recipe Hall of Fame Cookbook.
Gwen McKee is also the editor of Beyond Grits & Gravy and Best of the Best from America Cookbook. She is the author The Little Gumbo Book and The Little New Orleans Cookbook, the latter of which has been translated into French. These
two gift cookbooks were a natural progression, as Gwen was born and
reared in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She was educated at Louisiana State
University where her major studies and interests were journalism,
English, Delta Gamma and Barney.
The proud parents of three grown children and seven
grandchildren, Gwen and Barney McKee live in Brandon on a golf course in
a people-friendly home with a BIG kitchen.
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