Local entrepreneur, cooking show host encourages grads to ‘walk the walk’

People can’t help but love everything Vera Stewart.

Her dedication to family, tremendous work ethic and deep enthusiasm for homemade recipes from the South are the character traits that make all things Stewart touches contagious.

Or better put, “VeryVera.”

For more than 40 years, Stewart and her self-made company, VeryVera, have been an extraordinary example of female entrepreneurship throughout the state of Georgia and beyond.

Stewart initially made her start in catering but soon began operating a cafe and bakery in Augusta that quickly evolved into a highly successful mail-ordered cakes and casseroles business that served customers all over the country. VeryVera has attracted attention from celebrities all over the world, including former television host Oprah Winfrey, television personality and entrepreneur Martha Stewart and award-winning chef Bobby Flay.

But for Stewart, making delicious meals that are meant to be enjoyed by friends and family has always been at the heart of her business because she wants everyone to experience that homemade love around the dinner table.

“My journey with VeryVera actually started early,” said Stewart, who will be the keynote speaker at Augusta University’s Undergraduate Commencement Ceremonies on May 9 at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. in the Augusta Marriott at the Convention Center. “My mother was a single mom. My dad died when he was 40, and she raised five children by herself and was a schoolteacher.

“A lot of what I’ve learned about food preparation was her ability to think in advance of what could go in a crock pot,” she added. “But just the understanding of watching how she prepared herself for the week when she worked full time, but still was able to put these meals together for our entire family, made a major impact on me.”

Get the job done

As a middle child with four other siblings, Stewart admired her mother’s attitude of “get the job done,” which had a strong influence on her life.

“My mother expected the best from each of us in order to keep the ship sailing smoothly,” Stewart said. “She was definitely my first mentor. I clearly remember my excitement of seeing her pull the recipe box down from the top of the refrigerator, knowing that we were getting ready to make something delicious.”

No matter how busy her mother was on a daily basis, special occasions didn’t go unnoticed in their household.

“When it came to special occasions, my mother was very much involved in making sure the table was set beautifully,” Stewart said. “I have two of my own cookbooks, and in my second cookbook that was published, I used the phrase, ‘It all started with polishing the silver.’ Back then, a classic wedding gift was a piece of sterling silver, whether it’s a bowl or a tray or a candy dish. And my mother had quite a bit of it, and instead of just letting it sit in the cabinet, she used it for special occasions, and it meant the world to us.

“Now, I’ve done this with my own grandchildren,” Stewart added. “When it’s a special occasion, I just do those little things that they will remember, like making place cards. If it’s Christmas dinner, everybody has a place card. So that love of entertaining started for me very young and in an environment that probably would’ve not been the easiest thing to do with a working mother. Between my mother and my grandmother preparing food and celebrating those special occasions, that had a lot to do with food and entertaining that were just ingrained in me early on.”

The beginning of VeryVera

With the encouragement of her senior homeroom teacher and home economics instructor, Catherine Dupree, Stewart enrolled at the University of Georgia and graduated with a degree in home economics education.

“I began teaching home economics in Marietta, Georgia, in 1974, and I taught school right out of college for four years,” Stewart said. “During that time, I got married and moved to Madison, Georgia, and then eventually, to Cartersville, Georgia, where my first son was born. That’s when I came up with my little cottage catering business out of my home kitchen.”

While catering small dinner parties in the area, Stewart managed to land an inaugural luncheon for the staff of then-Georgia Gov. Joe Frank Harris, who was a native of Cartersville.

“That event put my catering business, Vera Stewart Occasions, on the map,” Stewart said. “But soon we were on the road to Augusta, and I officially opened my new business, VeryVera, named after my grandmother, in 1984.”

Over the past 40 years, Stewart has worked hard to grow her business and has evolved into a Southern cooking show host, entrepreneur, caterer, mail-order aficionado and author of two cookbooks.

While Stewart’s cooking skills and business savvy have attracted the attention of celebrities around the world, she insists that success didn’t come easily.

“One of the aspects of my speech that will hopefully resonate with the Augusta University students is that things don’t happen overnight. But just because it’s going to be hard to make it happen, you shouldn’t give up,” Stewart said. “It took me 10 years to get Oprah to endorse my product. I sent her cakes for 10 years. I sent three years’ worth of demo tapes to Food Network, hoping that I might be asked to be on one of those shows. So, it took three years for that to happen, but in 2010, I battled with celebrity chef Bobby Flay on Food Network’s ‘Throwdown’ and beat him with my carrot cake. I want students to know it is so important to maintain your enthusiasm, no matter what happens.”

Hard work makes it happen

“The VeryVera Show,” in its 13th season, showcases Stewart’s natural teaching ability and adds a new twist to some of the South’s favorite recipes.

“We are going into season 14, and we’ll be in 71 metropolitan markets, which now makes us a national television show,” Stewart said. “And there’s no syndicate that’s going around to all these stations plugging us. We made it happen ourselves. It’s all about grassroots and staying consistent with our quality and entertaining program.”

For years, Stewart said she worked hard to be picked up by stations all across the country, including Birmingham, Alabama.

“I have my wish list of cities and, for years, Birmingham was one of those cities,” she said. “It’s such a foodie town with just wonderful restaurants, and my son did his residency there. I just loved it. So, every year, we would send our show to the general manager of a station there, and he would just say, ‘We don’t have a spot.’”

But Stewart never gave up. She consistently sent the general manager of the station in Birmingham her information and a sample video of her show.

“And you know what? He called us and said, ‘For eight years, I could set my watch to it. You have sent your media kit, you sent your sizzle reel, you sent an example of a show and it’s time. We’ve decided to stop running a long-running cooking show and give you a time slot instead,’” Stewart said, smiling. “So, I want people to know it’s not about luck. Hard work makes it happen. You just have to want it.”

That is the message that Stewart hopes the graduates from Augusta University hear when she speaks to them during commencement.

“If things matter to you, work for it,” Stewart said. “For example, do you want to be noted for always being late? Do you want that to be used to describe you? I hope not. Take pride in what you do. Walk the walk, and you’ll be amazed at where that will take you in life.”