“I love to cook and I love my kitchen—just had it remodeled,” explained Johnny Foster as he reminisced, “I learned from my mother and started in the kitchen with her, peeling potatoes.”

Johnny and his family live in the Bellamy area of Gloucester. He was born and raised in Ware Neck. “All the family lived there and we were close together. My mother always had a big dinner for holidays and especially on Sunday after church. Usually seven to 10 of us would be there, and at times 15 to 20 would be at the table. She was a Southern cook. Always two meats with all the side dishes, including mashed potatoes and, of course, dessert. Mama didn’t cook from books, just from memory. She was always thinking about food and cooking.”

This she has passed on to her son. Johnny, although he has an old cookbook he refers to, can recite a recipe without looking at notes. “My grandmother, who was also a good cook, never had a cookbook. Everything she ...