Wanda Hailey, a Henrico County native who now makes her home in Mathews, has many talents and appears to enjoy each day as she always greets you with a welcoming smile. She is a professional manicurist owning her own business, Lady Fingers; she is an artist; and she is known as one of the best of the best cooks.

“I learned to cook at my mama’s side,” Wanda said, “and have been cooking for a long time. I guess I was around 12 years old when I made my first dish of spaghetti sauce. Mama didn’t measure anything and neither do I, nor do my children (son, daughter and grandson).”

From that point on there has been no limit as to what Wanda can produce in her kitchen. It is always very good, except for one occasion in the distant past. “When I was first married I decided to make a meatloaf. Don’t know what I did, but the odor of it cooking was very unpleasant. Got rid of it before my husband got home but I was still airing out the apartment.”

Wanda says she loves to cook. “I like be...