Hi, I’m Nora Grace
Welcome to Cookzii — where food meets memory, and recipes feel like home.
I grew up in a quiet town called Willow Creek, tucked deep in the hills of Tennessee, in a white wooden house with creaky floors and the smell of cinnamon toast in the air.
My world was shaped by three women:
👵 Grandma Susanna, the matriarch with hands that smelled of nutmeg and love.
👩 My mother Margaret, a schoolteacher with a heart as warm as her Sunday casseroles.
👧 And me — the quiet little girl who preferred scribbling stories in the margins of old cookbooks to playing outside.
It wasn’t always easy.
There were seasons of silence.
Moments of grief.
And the kind of emptiness that doesn’t quite have a name.
But in those moments…
I cooked.
Not for perfection.
But for presence.
For peace.
For something warm to hold onto when words weren’t enough.
My grandmother once told me:
“Every recipe tells a story, Nora… but not everyone knows how to hear it.”
So I listened.
And little by little, I began writing my own — not in ink, but in butter and breadcrumbs.
🌆 The City Years: Stirring Dreams Into Reality
In my early twenties, I packed a linen bag, tucked away a few of Grandma’s handwritten recipes, and left Willow Creek for Charleston, South Carolina
The city was a whirlwind — chefs shouting in kitchens, spices I couldn’t pronounce, and food styled for magazine covers.
I studied at Southern Hearth Culinary School, where I learned classical technique, plated sauces like art, and mastered the gentle elegance of a French tart.
But I never stopped cooking with my heart.
I worked my way through restaurants — tiny bakeries with cinnamon-dusted mornings, coastal bistros, fine dining rooms filled with candlelight.
And everywhere I went, people told me the same thing:
“You don’t just cook, Nora. You make food feel like home.”
Still, something was missing.
Not from my résumé…
But from my soul.
In a fast-paced kitchen where I once crafted the “perfect dessert for Instagram,” I paused.
And I realized…
I wasn’t meant to chase trends.
I was meant to honor traditions.
To create a space that felt like Willow Creek — no matter where you were in the world.
🍽️ Why I Created Cookzii
Cookzii.com isn’t just a food blog.
It’s a kitchen table — big enough for your memories, your cravings, and your beautifully imperfect life.
Whether you’re:
🍲 A mom rediscovering joy in a one-pot meal
🍪 A daughter longing for grandma’s biscuits
🥘 Or a woman simply looking for a win at dinnertime
You’re home here.
Here, I share:
🍞 Recipes with soul (and a little flour on the sleeves)
💬 Stories behind the meals, gently folded in
💛 A soft space where food becomes more than fuel — it becomes connection.
So pull up a chair.
Grab a mug.
Let’s cook something that feels like love.
With all my heart,
Nora Grace
Founder of Cookzii.com