Comedian Phyllis Diller used to joke that her cooking was so bad, her kids thought Thanksgiving was to commemorate Pearl Harbor.
Too bad Diller never knew Annie Penn. The longtime Chattanooga resident has been the secret weapon for dozens of inexperienced cooks who need a little help in the kitchen. And by “a little help,” we mean “major reinforcements” – as in, “Could you just cook this for me?”
Annie Penn, seated, with her seven children, from left, Felicia Dillard, Patrick Thompson, Jennifer Thompson-Malone, Claudia Turner, Vivian Sands, Robert Dillard and Diane Brown. (Contributed Family Photos)Penn says she doesn’t have a signature dish, though some of her former customers might say otherwise. Just don’t ask her for their names. She doesn’t cook and tell.
Just as some authors hire ghostwriters, some kitchen klutzes have learned they can shield themselves from embarrassment at the family potluck by hiring a professional to prepare a dish – or maybe even the whole shebang.
“I’ve done Thanksgiving meals for people and Christmas meals,” says Penn, 77, who has worked in various capacities of food service, including as a food-line supervisor at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, a sous chef at Chattanooga Golf and Country Club and as a private chef.