Southern Living's Top Cook Heads to Habersham

By Mark Shaffer
Photos courtesy of Time, Inc.

For untold decades the Southern Living Test Kitchen has churned out recipes, perfected techniques and tortured equipment all for the benefit of the magazine's dedicated readers. With the advent of the digital age anyone can go online and get step-by-step instruction on how to make creamy grits, crispy cornbread, fluffy biscuits and just about anything else you can think of that's good to eat south of the Mason Dixon. Running "The South's Most Trusted Kitchen" is one of the most coveted culinary positions in the nation and one Chef Robby Melvin approaches with a certain academic sensibility.

The Moveable Feast gang finds that membership has its privileges...

Story & photos by Mark Shaffer

Let's cut to the chase. Right now you're wondering, "So how's the spaghetti at the Spaghetti Club?" It's the obvious question. The short answer is assolutamente fantastico, un lavoro d'amore. And as my colleagues noted many, many times during this meal, both the meatballs and the Alfredo Sauce are "to die for." To. Die. For. But we'll get to that.