By Andrew Edwards

Staff Writer

Nineteen dollars and a dream changed Stacey Little’s life forever.

Little, long-time Prattville resident and creator of the brand ‘Southern Bite’, has seen immense success since his “little blog” began back in 2008. In fact, his cooking/baking have been so wildly popular that he’s had the opportunity to make his own merchandise and apparel, grow his online website and Facebook page, and write and publish his own cookbook, ‘The Southern Bite’, which landed as a Wall Street Journal Best Seller back in 2014.

But the success that Little has achieved was not handed to him. It was earned through hard-work and sheer determination. And from an early age, he learned that his love for cooking was one that was shared by family.

“I grew up with grandparents, on both sides of the family, who were great cooks – and my mother was too. When I was born, it was just my mom and me who lived with my grandparents and they were always cooking, so the influence started early. After my mom met who I now call dad, they came together and came up with a way for her to stay home with me. That had always been her dream. Having just one source of income made the budget super tight for us. I mean, she would cook three meals a day – she had to. If I spent any time with her, it was in the kitchen,” Little said.

Food had always been a constant for Little. And as are all things that are constant, he never really paid much attention to the impact that the time in the kitchen had on his life. Until he graduated from Auburn University at Montgomery with a degree in Communication Studies, and in 2006, had the chance to write restaurant reviews with the local newspaper.

“I did that for a few years before they pulled the review section from the paper back in 2008, but I had a lot of people that would tell me how much they enjoyed the reviews, and how I reminded them about things that they had forgotten about. They really loved my take on new places,” Little said.

With continued pressure to continue his reviews, Stacey needed to act quickly. In 2008, the only true option that he had was to start his own blog.

“Social media wasn’t really a big deal back then, so I bought southernbite.com for nineteen dollars as a way to do my restaurant reviews,” Little explained.

But the way his website worked quickly changed, as more and more people began to ask for recipes instead.

“I grew up with a mom that had tons of great recipes, and I was sitting at my desk one Monday morning typing a recipe into a word document when I realized, “you know, I have this website here. I could just put a little tab at the top and put the recipe there.” And so that’s what I did. Sure enough, people found their way to the recipe tab and the analytics showed that. So, I started doing more and more of it,” Little said.

Little began to use his digital camera to take pictures of his food and recipes, and his $19 blog started to grow exponentially.

Then his life would change forever when he was approached by an editor from Thomas Nelson, the largest publisher of bibles worldwide, who wanted him to write a cookbook for them.

“I was apprehensive at first because writing a book is different than blogging. When you blog, it’s informational, it’s direct, it’s short, and I can be myself. I use the word ‘y’all’ a lot and start my sentences with ‘and’. I didn’t want to write a stuffy book that made me something else,” Little explained.

Thomas Nelson continued to pursue Little before he finally agreed to write in the book in 2012, so long as it would personify him and be fit for his readers. The project took Little 18 months to complete and was named ‘The Southern Bite Cookbook’.

“It was a whirlwind from then on,” Little said.

The book gained national attention, becoming a Wall Street Journal Best Seller. Little would then appear on shows such as Fox and Friends and the Today Show to talk about his rise to culinary fame.

“The book and everything that came from it was wonderful, but the best thing that came out of that was that I had the opportunity to capture family recipes that had never been captured before. As I was writing the book, I realized that I was writing something for my son, so that he would have recipes from generations that came before him and create a connection to family members that he never got a chance to meet,” Little said.

Not only that, but Little has formed relationships with people all across the country since his book and blog have taken off.

“The people that follow me are not just numbers on the stat counter – they’re real people on the other side of the computer. Having the opportunity to connect with people that you don’t even know has been wonderful,” Little explained.

Little explained that he wants his writing to feel conversational, like you’re sitting down with him about to take part in a big family meal. He also wants to use recipes that are inexpensive and reusable.

“Some recipes from other cookbooks are going to cost you $60 to make, and you may never use half of the things that you buy ever again. So, I adopted the ‘Walmart Rule’, which means there are no recipes that I use where I can’t get the ingredients at Walmart. I know, if I can get it there, chances are all my readers can get it there too,” Little said.

In the midst of adopting rules and writing books, Little was having settle his own inner conflicts and decide the path that he wanted his life to take. He and his wife, Heather, agreed that it was time for him to focus on himself after they helped her get through nurse practitioner school at Auburn.

“I just couldn’t do it, though. I kept asking, “God, I need some kind of sign. If there’s something you need me to do, please tell me.” Looking back, there were tons of signs, but I was just too hard-headed to see them,” Little said.

Little could either stay with his job at a local nonprofit, which he held for years, or focus full-time on his cooking/blogging passion. One day, the decision came knocking at his office door.

“I loved my job there, and my boss was amazing. I had a great gig,” Little said. “But, one day, the board president showed up at the office and told us that they were going to call each of us in individually. They ended up eliminating half of the staff that day, including myself,” Little said.

“I had a lot of peace about it, though. I remember thinking this is the sign.”

Ultimately, Little losing his job benefitted his career in the long run.

“God always provided and presented me with opportunities beyond my wildest dreams. I would have never been able to pursue them if I hadn’t left my other job” Little said.

For a while he worked at home before opening his kitchen/studio in Downtown Prattville back in 2017. There, Little comes up with recipes, tests them, and even holds cooking classes for anyone who wants to attend.

Little explained that he never thought, in all the years that he’s been cooking and blogging, that he’d be in the position that he’s in today.

“None of this was really ever on my radar. In 2008, I really didn’t know that there was even a way to make money doing this,” Little said. “Most of this still doesn’t even feel real. I am blessed far beyond what I deserve.”

For more information about everything Southern Bite, visit their Facebook Page or go to https://southernbite.com/?fbclid=IwAR3rTpKNYe9bxHxoKP2UDyzHSZe8zcj41N6vPaCf4lNAK5gpRdVGqUj1eks