Meet The Councils
One granddaughter sells biscuits that are so good she named her businessBomb Biscuits.
Another granddaughter makes crispy baked meringue cookies that shatter on your tongue with a lingering sweetness.
One daughter creates cake mixes that bake into red velvet or pound cake.
Mildred Council, a self- taught cook, started her namesake restaurant with just $64. It would eventually become a thriving family business.Credit: Peter Frank Edwards
“It’s a lot of history there, right?”
The food story goes back a lot further, though.
Then in 1947, she married Joe Council, whose family started a small restaurant, Bill’s Bar-B-Que.
The Family Council (From left) Tonya, Anita, Erika, and Annette Council all credit Mildred Council, the family matriarch, for their entrepreneurial drive.Credit: Peter Frank Edwards
Yes, nicknames are a tradition in this family.
“That’s where the food really started for us.”
Work always came first in the Council family.
Mama Dip’s famous fried chicken still draws customers from near and far.Credit: Peter Frank Edwards
All of the children and grandchildren have memories of Mildred keeping busy.
She decided to create a cookie that was as good as her grandmother’s pecan pie.
She tried and tried, getting on everyone’s nerves in the kitchen while she made batch after batch.
Erika Council (right) and her aunt Anita make Erika’s Bomb Biscuits.Credit: Peter Frank Edwards
Finally, she experimented with a fateful new recipe.
At first, she made them for people, but it took a lot of time.
So she came up with easy mixes they could use instead.
Credit: Peter Frank Edwards
Whenever her mother was baking, the children were always in the kitchen.
“We were waiting to lick the bowls,” she says, laughing.
Tonya calls her cousin Erika Council “the biscuit whisperer.”
“That story was super impactful for me,” she adds.
They all credit Mildred for that trait.
When she hosted parties for her friends, the table was decorated just so.
Annette says her younger sister, Anita, has the same touch.
“Spring gets the classy in Southern food,” she teases her.
Mildred always let the kids stay in the kitchen with her, Erika recalls.
And she believed in the principle of “pull as you climb,” helping others to be successful.
“She was the embodiment of that,” Erika says.
Continuing Mama Dip’s Legacy
In this family, everything has come back to the business.
Mildred was there every day until the last two years of her life.
“The wisdom and advice is what I miss,” she adds.
That was what she wanteda legacy that would go on long after she was gone.
