VIRGINIA WILLIS is a French-trained chef, former TV producer of Martha Stewart Living and Epicurious (Discovery Channel), teacher, and food writer who lives in Atlanta, Georgia.THE AUTHOR SCOOP Tell me a story that other people might not know about you.People generally think I am a Southern lady, but I turn into a big old redneck at Atlanta Braves gamesHave any good pet stories?Our pets usually all have food names ndash; wersquo;ve had Butterbean and Peanut. Our cats are Earl Grey, Biscuit, and Smokey. Our recent rescue is a dog named Cricket. I wanted to name her Cracker, but thatrsquo;s somewhat of a derogatory term in the South, so we decided against it. We also have 3 chickens and since… itrsquo;s kind of country to have chickens in town, we named them Patsy, Tammy, and Loretty for the country music singers. (Itrsquo;s important to say Loretty, not Loretta, just like Doo called Loretta in A Coal Minerrsquo;s Daughter. Favorite cocktail?Irsquo;m from Georgia; Bourbon and water. Do you have a scar anywhere on your body? How did you get it?I have more than one ndash; the most interesting one is on my temple. We were fishing in the Gulf and a friend caught a sea catfish. Their barbs are poisonous, so he tried to flip the fish off the hook instead of touching the fish. Well, he did ndash; right into my head. Since it was a head wound, it bled profusely. We were out on a little island and we had to get back to the dock to take me to the hospital. It was all fine, but could have been very serious. Another inch and I would have lost my eye. The funniest part is the doctor, of course, cleaned the wound, but a year later I found myself scratching the scar and a little piece of catfish barb came out! What was your first job? Making pizza @ Pizza Pronto. I also had to deliver pizza for a short period of time. Then once, I delivered a pizza in a sketchy area and a man followed me. I got back to the car, my heart beating, and he came up to the car and said, ldquo;I was worried about you; you donrsquo;t need to come here by yourself. Go back to your store and tell your boss you wonrsquo;t do it.rdquo; And, I did.