VALDOSTA — The thing that Rachel Paytee enjoys the most about cooking is having people come back for seconds.

“I have had a former co-worker tell me she hates macaroni and cheese, but she was saying it while she was eating her second plate (a very large plate).”

Paytee’s macaroni and cheese won first place at the Dean Bothers Empty Bowl charity event two years ago. Both that dish and her Fiesta Pork Chops are frequently requested by family and friends.

“I love to cook,” she said. “I enjoy baking as well. I love to make cakes and pies. I have a new recipe for a strawberry and lemon cake that’s amazing.”

The Valdostan has written a cookbook that was recently published entitled “Cooking from the Heart.”

“I am in the process of opening a restaurant in Valdosta called Paytee’s, and I am very excited about that,” she added.

The restaurant will be in the Best Western King of the Road hotel, 1403 N. St. Augustine Road, and will open in early October.

The Quitman native graduated from Brooks County High and attended Valdosta State University. She is currently a student at Valdosta Technical College, majoring in business.

She learned to cook by watching her mother, Sallie Paytee, grandmother, the late Sallie Brinson, and aunts, Mary Bryant and Bobbie Newsome, all of Quitman, and Bettye Hill of Gainesville, Fla.

“I have a very large family — loads of sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles and cousins,” she said. “We always get together for family reunions or big holidays such as Christmas and Easter, and, of course, I’m doing most of the cooking. I host yearly Christmas dinners at my home for family and friends. Last Christmas, I had 76 of my family members and friends over, and I prepared all the dishes.”

Paytee also sponsors yearly benefit banquets for the homeless shelter, New Horizons.

“I am a former employee but I try to stay connected and help any way I can,” she said.

Her talents extend to catering as well.

“My catering service is called ‘Cooking from the Heart,’ named after my cookbook.”

Those interested in her catering services, her cookbook or her restaurant may e-mail her rachelpaytee@yahoo.com or call 229-415-3162.