Meyer aims to put Aplington on the map with new book

As the lunch shift winds down at the Peppercorn Pantry on a Thursday afternoon and Mary Meyer enjoys a brief—albeit interrupted— break, the restaurateur turned author seeks to dispel some myths about the trade: one, that you need a formal education to become a top-notch chef, and two, that a high-end tearoom with gourmet offerings can’t survive in small-town Iowa.

Meyer, who has lived in Aplington since the age of five and raised all three of her children here with her husband Russ, recently received a truckload of copies (5,000, to be exact) of her new book Where Friends Gather: A Collection of Recipes from the Peppercorn Pantry, which she describes as part recipe collection, part personal memoir.

She traces her lifelong passion to her days growing up in a family of nine children. “I was just ecstatic when I was able to make breakfast, and eggs and stuff. One brother liked it this way, and one brother liked his eggs this way,” she said. “It was great when I was able to make them perfect… I’ve just always wanted to learn.”

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