Areavoices.com: A letter to Paula Deen

Paula, Paula, Paula.

By now, you're probably tired of all the fuss - the criticism of your calorie- and cholesterol-drenched cuisine, your recent revelation that you have type 2 diabetes, your new contract with Novo Nordisk to pitch one of their diabetes drugs.

I'm not going to nag or get all judgmental on you. Others have already done so - for instance, chef and Food Channel host Anthony Bourdain who sarcastically tweeted this week, "Thinking of getting into the leg-breaking business, so I can profitably sell crutches later." Or an editorial in the Star Tribune of Minneapolis, which criticized you for promoting "a lifestyle elevating feeling good for a moment above everything else" and concluded, "It's time for her to become a force for good instead of a force for fat."

But I have to ask, Paula: What the heck were you thinking?

I'm a teensy bit embarrassed to admit that although I recognize your name and know you're a celebrity chef/restaurateur who has written books and appeared on TV, I didn't know much about your culinary style other than that it's "Southern." After the story broke this week, I looked up some of your recipes online and I was... well, taken aback, to say the least.

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