Hattiesburg native, Robert St. John opened his first restaurant, The Purple Parrot, in 1987. He explains his decision to have multiple dining formats in the same building.
St. John has authored seven cookbooks and his weekly food column is syndicated in thirty newspapers. In this extended version of the original episode, he discusses how his love of traditional Southern cooking, seafood and Creole cuisine has shaped his own cooking style and how Southern cooking has evolved in the past twenty-five years.