Vera
Vera Stewart is a Southern cooking show host, entrepreneur, caterer, mail order aficionado, cookbook author, and mentor.
When Vera Stewart received her Home Economics Education degree in 1974 from the University of Georgia, she was full of ideas, goals, and the determination to see them through. She took her love of teaching to the classroom, spending 4 years enriching high school students with culinary knowledge and the skills to be successful adults. Motherhood brought Vera out of the classroom and into the home, where her catering business was born. The event that put her business on the map was the inaugural luncheon for Governor Joe Frank Harris in 1983, and in 1984, the VeryVera brand was crafted. To continue the company’s growth, she diversified into a multifaceted catering and mail-order business with national sales.
Vera’s love for teaching opened up another opportunity for diversification when she started a summer cooking school. VeryVera Cooking Camp, which sells out yearly, entered its 16th year in Summer 2019. 2017 brought VeryVera’s inaugural camp franchise program, in which franchisees in Columbus, GA and Aiken, SC held their very own VeryVera Cooking Camp for the first time. Due to the success of this franchise program, five franchise locations held VeryVera Cooking Camp in 2019.
Since 2012, Vera has deepened the relationship with her fan base through The VeryVera Show, a cooking and lifestyle show with national sponsors Sub-Zero Wolf and Cove and Hershey. Each week, tens of thousands of fans tune in to watch her put a twist on classic Southern recipes and introduce new ways to entertain. The VeryVera Show is dearly loved for Vera’s take on Southern cuisine, prized giveaways, and well-known culinary figures from the south and beyond, including Tyler Florence, Nathalie Dupree, Virginia Willis, The Lee Brothers, and Rebecca Lang.
In April 2018, Vera released The VeryVera Cookbook: Recipes From My Table, which contains recipes for every product she ever sold via mail order and in her café. The VeryVera Cookbook has gained media attention from Taste of the South, Relish, and Local Palate magazines, Reese Witherspoon’s Draper James blog, and many other online outlets.
In April 2023, Vera released her second cookbook, Occasions, which contains tried and true recipes from her catering experiences throughout the years. The cookbook is organized by season to help everyone become an amazing entertainer.
Throughout all eras of her career, Vera has found her true passion in mentoring young people. As an homage to those who helped shape the person she is, Vera takes pride in seeing her employees flourish under her guidance. In recent years, this has manifested in an emerging internship program at VeryVera, giving college students and graduates the opportunity to see a small business owner in action. Since 1997, Vera has also given college scholarships to high school students on her staff that exhibit a strong work ethic and determination. 2019 brought the introduction of a camp scholarship program, spearheaded by and named for Elizabeth Pipkin, VeryVera Cooking Camp’s first Junior Counselor.
Vera is easily recognized by her winning smile, contagious enthusiasm, and visible passion for her work. Vera’s home is in Augusta with her husband, Andy, a retired attorney, and her growing family.
Accolades include:
- 1997 Augusta/Richmond County Chamber of Commerce Small Business Person of the Year
- CSRA Business Hall of Fame Laurette
- Girl Scouts Woman of Distinction Award Winner
- 2 GABBY Merit Awards
- UGA Family and Consumer Sciences Emily Quin Pou Professional Achievement Award
- UGA FACS 100 Centennial Honoree
- 2019 UGA Bulldog 100 Award Winner; VeryVera was named 38th out of the top 100 fastest-growing UGA Alumni owned businesses
Timeline
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1993
Shipped first cake
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1995
Southern Living Magazine
Made a sale in every state in 10 days.
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1996
Launched VeryVera.com
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2001
Begin selling on gourmettogo.com
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2002
Café opens in Augusta, Georgia
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2004
Cooking Camp Launched
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2007
Begin Selling on Saks.com
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2008
Begin Selling on NeimanMarcus.com
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2009
Begin Selling on Costco.com
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2010
Appears on the Food Network’s Throwdown with Bobby Flay
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2011
Begin Selling on HSN.com
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2011
Begin Selling on Bloomingdales.com
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2012
Fresh Market Becomes Sponsor
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2012
Premiered live on HSN
Featured cakes and casseroles
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2012
The VeryVera Show Premiers
on TV26 WAGT Augusta
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2013
New Home for the Cottage
Wheeler Rd, Augusta, GA
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2013
Very Vera Show wins Merit GABBY Award
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2014
VeryVera Show wins 2nd Merit GABBY Award
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2015
The VeryVera Show is syndicated
WSAV – Savannah, GA
WRBL – Columbus, GA -
2016
The VeryVera Show up three more markets
WMAZ – Macon, GA
WCBD – Charleston, SC
WBTW – Myrtle Beach, SC -
2016
SubZero / Wolf becomes the appliance sponsor
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2017
VeryVera camp has first franchise locations
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2017
Hershey Becomes Sponsor
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2017
The VeryVera Show picks up new markets
WWAY – Wilmington, NC
WISH – Indianapolis, IN -
2018
VeryVera Cookbook Released
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2018
6 New TV Markets Added
WTTA – Tampa, FL
WYCW – Greenville, SC
WFNA – Mobile, AL
WAMY – Huntsville, AL
NBC – Waterstown, NY
KSWL – Lake Charles, LA -
2018
Camp Franchises in 4 locations
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2018
FACS 100 Recipient
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2019
Camp franchises 5 locations
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2019
New TV Markets
WDVM – Hagerstown, MD
WJTV – Jackson, MS
WHLT – Hattiesburg, MS
WDHN – Dothan, AL
WSST – Cordele, GA
WSWG – Albany, GA
KAVU-TV – Victoria, TX -
2019
Bulldog 100 Honoree
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2019
Cookbook in Second Reprint
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2020
Cookbook in Third Reprint
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2020
Contributing Food Editor with Augusta Magazine
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2020
6 New TV Markets Added
WRIC – Richmond, VA
WWCW – Roanoke, VA
KDAF – Dallas, TX
KIAH – Houston, TX
KWKT – Waco, TX
KFOR – Oklahoma City, OK -
2021
VeryVera Show celebrates its 10th season
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2021
4 New TV Markets Added
KXLT – Rochester, MN
WOLO – Columbia, SC
WMYT – Charlotte, NC
WTVW – Evansville, IN -
2022
Contributing Editor with The Augusta Press
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2022
3 New TV Markets Added
