Dora Charles (third from left) on the cover of Paula Deen’s 2005 cookbook (Simon & Schuster)
Paula Deen’s longtime cook, Dora Charles, has come forward in a new interview claiming that the embattled TV chef used racially charged language, allegedly asked her to ring a dinner bell outside a restaurant and allegedly wanted a black employee to dress in an “Aunt Jemima” costume.
Charles recalled to the New York Times that she ran Deen’s kitchens in Georgia for 22 years, and the two became close friends. They developed recipes, celebrated birthdays and according to Charles, Deen told her they would get rich together one day.
However, once Deen’s cooking empire took off, Charles told the newspaper she was treated like any other employee and was paid $10 an hour. She currently lives in a trailer outside of Savannah.
Charles also claimed that the former Food Network star used racial epithets, including the N-word, and once wanted her to “ring a dinner bell in front of the restaurant, hollering for people to come and get it.”
“I said, ‘I’m not ringing no bell,’” Charles told the paper. “That’s a symbol to me of what we used to do back in the day.”
Deen eventually found a black employee, Ineata “Jellyroll” Jones, willing to take up the bell-ringing task. However, Jones drew the line when she was allegedly asked by Deen to dress like Aunt Jemima.
“Jellyroll didn’t want to hear that,” Charles said. “She didn’t want to do that.”
Deen’s team offered a statement to the paper denying Charles’s allegations.
“Fundamentally Dora’s complaint is not about race but about money. It is about an employee that despite over 20 years of generosity feels that she still deserves yet even more financial support from Paula Deen. ”
Deen’s camp also said that on July 6, Jones signed a legal document saying that she had never felt discriminated against and has never heard Deen using racial slurs during her employment.