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A Star Among Us

Chef Star Maye's Debut Cookbook Spotlights Sauces, Soups, Sandwiches And Especially Brunch

Article by Delia Jo Ramsey

Photography by Christy Hunter/Photowalk Nashville

Originally published in Brentwood Lifestyle

Chef Star Maye certainly lives up to her name. Though the chef has only been in her role running the kitchen at Hillsboro Village’s Anzie Blue since mid-2021, Executive Chef Star is already a shining beacon of talent, tenacity, and inspiration in Music City and beyond.

Star is a Black LGBTQ veteran who grew up in a big family in Excel, Alabama, where she learned to cook alongside her grandmother. She said Sunday dinners at her grandparents’ house were the epicenter of it all — big gatherings with plate after plate of delicious southern food.

“People came from all around. It didn't really matter -- they'd drive an hour. We've had people pull over for directions and never leave. It's a thing, you know, it was a lot of fellowship and camaraderie within my family. Not just us and the family, but just people in general. My grandmother didn't meet a stranger,” recalled Star.

And neither has Star. Her personality and her smile are irresistible and light up the room. The chef says her favorite meal to cook is breakfast. Her favorite childhood memories involved being awakened from sleep in the mornings to the smell of bacon and sausage cooking.  And as luck would have it, it’s Star’s love for breakfast that would first get her on the team at Anzie Blue — and before long she was running the kitchen and making the place her own.

Star views Anzie Blue as an extension of her own home — a place she wants everyone to close their laptop, relax, and take a break from the negativity of the world.

“We feed everybody. That was always the thing: feeding everybody. No person should be hungry because my grandmother taught us when we were young that food is a necessity for the human body. Everybody has to eat, regardless of how they may feel. Food is the only way to bring everybody together. It doesn't matter your color, your creed, or your sexual orientation, nothing matters. ‘Cause everybody's gotta eat," says Star. 

It was her love for her staff that first inspired what later turned out as her debut cookbook, "A Star Among Us: A Chef’s Story", which was released earlier this year. It was also a COVID diagnosis that provided Star the time to do so. The chef recalls her time spent quarantining. She said her symptoms weren’t too bad, so she just started writing down recipes for her staff. Then, once she was done she paired them up with professional photography she had on hand. Once it was curated the chef presented the finished product to Anzie Blue’s co-owner Marcie Allen Van Mol to print for the staff, and Marcie said "No, this is a book!" And Star’s first cookbook was born, which she dedicated to her mother Judy Maye, son Trenton, and grandmothers Reatha and Ellen.

Besides running the kitchen and writing cookbooks, Star also curates a few fun offerings every month, from drag brunch and gospel brunch to jazz brunch every weekend and a host of other events including a new cooking series where she’ll teach attendees some of her go-to dishes for the holidays. Check anzieblue.com to stay up to date on the latest events.

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