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Food Editor, Ebony Magazine

Charlotte Lyons has been creating appetizing meals for over 20 years. She is now the food editor of Ebony magazine and just published The New Ebony Cookbook. Before Ebony, Lyons worked for some of the best food companies in America. "Originally I was unaware, when I was in school, of the different positions in home economics and I thought I was just going to teach," recalls Lyons of the beginning of her career.

"I joined this organization called Home Economist and Business, and I learned that there were all kinds of jobs working with the food industries. I was working at General Mills for Betty Crocker doing recipe development and food photography," says Lyons. "Later I went to Campbell Soup and I learned that they always had people develop recipes for the labels and the back of the boxes and people who styled the food for commercials. And I was really fascinated with it." Lyons wants aspiring cooks to know it doesn't take being in the kitchen all day to make the perfect feast.

"I think it is just putting your soul into a recipe. Have fun with it, because most recipes are basically a guide. Don't feel like if that recipe says basil and you don't have basil [that you can't make that dish], you should be able to make simple substitutions. Create your own recipes from the recipe that you are using," she says. Whether you are preparing skillet cabbage or baking lemonade cake, the recipes in Lyons' new book are easy to follow, even for a novice cook. -adrienne gadling

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