Jackson Free Press

Yes, they eat biscuits and listen to blues in San Francisco. Thanks to Regina Charboneau, that is. The Biscuits and Blues nightclub, started in 1995, is one of the several establishments this acclaimed chef has opened or helped put on the map. The Natchez native has certainly made her hometown proud.

Charboneau has lived everywhere from "Frisco" to the "Big Apple" and a few places in between. She's authored a cookbook, written features in several newspapers and been a guest chef on NBC's "Today Show." But now she's come full-circle, cooking things up at Twin Oaks, the historic bed and breakfast she owns and runs back home in Natchez.

"My father was a wonderful cook, and my mother was a wonderful hostess," she says. "I guess I came by it naturally."

The thing that makes her bed and breakfast special, Charboneau says, is that she offers "the perfect combination of genuine Southern hospitality, while at the same time giving guests a lot of space. It's not a traditional bed and breakfast."

This culinary artist does more than cook, however. The entrepreneur—chosen one of the state's 50 Leading Businesswomen in 2005 by Mississippi Business Journal—is helping spearhead the revitalization of her hometown. The first project she took on was the Great River Road Food Festival. The festival is held every August and seeks to raise money for sending local students to culinary school.

"The other project that's close to my heart is the Main Street Market Place—the local farmer's market—a collaborative effort between the city of Natchez and Alcorn (State University)," Charboneau explains. "What had been done just wasn't working. When the farmers were there, the people weren't there, and when the people weren't there, the farmers weren't."

After Charboneau helped develop a café concept for the space, though, the farmers have been quite successful. Patrons are accustomed to coming to the Market Place every morning for coffee and breakfast (and wi-fi, when needed), so it's a pleasant surprise when farmers are there to sell produce. "It's become a gathering place," Charboneau declares.

The 52-year-old chef, entrepreneur, volunteer and mother to two teenaged sons isn't tired, yet. Along with the Natchez Historic Foundation, Charboneau's current resolution is to see the old Ritz Theatre refurbished.

"I often tell my guests: I spent 23 years trying to get away from here and 23 years trying to get back. Moving away, you have a greater appreciation for where and what you've come from. Natchez is a treasure, and I'm very proud to be a Mississippian."