hey y’all, I’m Ivy!
I’m so glad you’re here!
If you want a peek behind the scenes of my life, beyond what you see on Instagram, you’re in the right place!
just a girl from small town south georgia…
I was born and raised in Moultrie, Georgia. As a child, I was super shy (hard to believe now, I know). I grew up cooking with my parents and grandmother. Despite being a picky eater early on, I fell in love with food around the same time I started to come out of my shy shell. I thrived in the Home Ec (Family and Consumer Sciences) department—so much so, I was convinced I wanted to become a Home Ec teacher.
…with really big dreams
Fast forward to the second semester of my junior year at The University of Georgia (GO DAWGS!). After completing my in-classroom practicum, which is the step before full-time student-teaching, I felt like I needed to make a change.
I quickly did some Googling, and came upon Rebecca Lang, a cookbook author, cooking instructor, and TV personality based in Athens, Georgia. After looking through her website, I submitted an inquiry on her contact form, hoping she’d talk with me about a day in the life of her job. We met, and two hours later, she offered me an internship helping her on her fourth cookbook. She took me under her wing and showed me the ropes on this whole “food media” world, and I fell in love with it. I switched my major to Consumer Journalism and never looked back.
a new adventure
After graduation, instead of getting a real job or post-graduate degree, I enrolled in the Culinary Arts program at L’Academie de Cuisine in Gaithersburg, Maryland. I packed up and moved to Washington, D.C.- a short commute from Gaithersburg- excited for my new adventure. Culinary school was incredible. I made amazing friends, learned a lot about myself and even more about food and how to get around a kitchen. After six months in the classroom, I moved to Atlanta, Georgia to complete the second half of my culinary program, which involved working for six months in a restaurant. I began working at Empire State South in April of 2016. I knew going into the whole experience that the restaurant industry was not for me- I had my sights set on working in the Southern Living Test Kitchens (more on that later)- and after a grueling but rewarding stint in the restaurant, I applied for a fellowship in the Test Kitchens.
from intern to editor
If you’ve gotten this far, you probably know what happens next. I began working as a Fellow in the Time Inc. Food Studios (Time Inc. was the parent company for Southern Living at the time) in September 2016. In that role, I tested and developed recipes for multiple print and digital brands, helped maintain the kitchen pantry and assisted on photo and video shoots. It’s a long story (that you can read about in my cookbook!) but after a few years in the test kitchens, a digital video series, a television show, and a pandemic that led to a total shift in my job role from recipe developer to full-time video content producer….here we are!
these days…
I’m the Senior Lifestyle Editor at Southern Living. On top of my social media videos I produce for the brand, I have regular appearances on the TODAY Show, The Kelly Clarkson Show, and Good Morning America. I spent the better parts of 2024 and 2025 working on my first cookbook, My Southern Kitchen, which comes out October 7th!
at home with Ivy
I’ve received a few awards, like being recognized as a 40 Under 40 honoree for the University of Georgia in 2023 and a FOLIO Top Women in Media Up and Comer in 2020, which I’m so honored to have been selected for. Outside of work, I love traveling, scoping out new restaurants with my husband, work in my garden, and tackling home improvement projects. I live in Homewood, Alabama with my husband Luis, and our dog, Basil.
“I’m so glad you’re a part of this community with me. My kitchen is always open, so come take a seat at my table!”
xoxo, Ivy Odom
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