At Camilla Kitchen, Chef Teryi Youngblood celebrates her first cookbook
It’s not easy to cook in a tiny bookstore kitchen with an oven and two induction burners and no hood for ventilation. Yet, Teryi Youngblood pulls it off with aplomb. The proof is in the White Chocolate Banana Pudding—and the three dozen other recipes in her new cookbook, Bookstore Kitchen.
An alumna of Soby’s and Passerelle, Youngblood took the executive chef job at M. Judson Bookstore’s Camilla Kitchen in 2022, after a five-year hiatus from working in restaurants.
The idea of a cookbook had been simmering since she first joined the bookstore’s team, but it didn’t come to fruition until fall of 2025. Contributions from the M. Judson staff for the photography, writing, editing, styling, and project management “made it so easy to do,” Youngblood says.
Intended for entertaining and sharing, Youngblood’s recipes lean toward comfort food. “A gentleman told me the other day, ‘This is really an eclectic cookbook.’ I said, ‘Then . . . you know what it’s like in my brain,’” the chef shares with a laugh.
Her food speaks of memories, from chilaquiles like those she enjoyed with a friend in Mexico years ago to her takes on the sausage balls her grandmother made for the family on Christmas Eve. Youngblood even riffs on her mother’s banana bread. “My mom thinks she makes good banana bread, but mine [studded with nuts and chocolate chunks] is the best!” she proclaims.
Recipes are tied to food served at Camilla Kitchen and the bookstore’s events: the malted milk sugar cookies and coconut oat chewies in the pastry case, and the ground nut stew—her signature dish—she made for a Runaway Friday lunch. Mushroom puffs and sausage balls served during the store’s late-afternoon Golden Hour are also available in the grab-and-go freezer case.
When the chef sees her cookbook on a table in the store, it still feels surreal. “The cookbook was a labor of love and we had so much fun doing it,” she says. “The magic that happened on that paper is just beautiful.”
Bookstore Kitchen, Stories and Recipes from Chef Teryi Youngblood (Oxeye Press, 2025), available at M. Judson Booksellers, 130 S. Main St., Greenville
Hit the Books
Find inspiration for home decorating and gardening with these other good reads by South Carolina authors.
Carolina Writers at Home, by Meg Reid (Hub City Press, 2015)
Compiled by Meg Reid, executive director of Hub City Writers Project in Spartanburg, South Carolina, this collection of 25 essays transports readers into the private worlds of notable North and South Carolina writers. From a classic neighborhood bungalow to a dwelling on Dafuskie Island, these authors capture the particular character of the places they call home.
The Harmonious Home: Designing Peaceful Personal Spaces Inspired by Nature, by Rebecca Atwood (Penguin Random House, 2025)
Let nature guide you when styling your interiors, as this new title by artist and textile designer Rebecca Atwood recommends. A Charleston resident, Atwood draws on six different landscapes—from ocean to city—illustrating how you can evoke the desired mood for your home through novel combinations of color and pattern.
The House Romantic: Curating Memorable Interiors for a Meaningful Life, by Haskell Harris (Abrams, 2024)
In The House Romantic, Haskell Harris, longtime style director for Garden & Gun magazine, presents a collection of gorgeous interiors with compelling stories behind them. From London, England, to Charleston, South Carolina, these houses are imbued with a distinct style and welcoming warmth that reveals a glimpse into each homeowner’s personal history.
Starting and Saving Seeds: Grow the Perfect Vegetables, Fruits, Herbs, and Flowers for Your Garden, by Julie Thompson-Adolf (Cool Springs Press, 2021)
What’s more perfect for spring gardening than a primer on starting seeds? Greenville Master Gardener Julie Thompson-Adolf leads you on a journey to sustainable gardening in this step-by-step guide. It’s a joyful trip, filled with all the knowledge you’ll need to germinate seeds and grow a cornucopia of vegetables, fruits, herbs, and flowers.
