Lisa Burris has a knack for making food so good, it will remind you of the stuff your grandma used to make. Burris, a Johnson & Wales University Charleston graduate, has done a little bit of everything in the culinary industry, having worked as a server, private chef and caterer before opening up her own business. She and her partner in food, Lori Pearson, are the folks behind the chic-meets-South Savor Café and Catering, which serves up "Southern Comfort Food" that will make your mouth water and keep you coming back for more.

Creative Loafing: What is "Southern Comfort Food"?

Lisa Burris: It's the foods that Laurie and I grew up on, like shrimp and grits (that's so from her side) and pimento cheese chicken breast (that's from mine). I think generally, Southern Comfort is, to me, the food that makes you feel good when you eat it.

Who are some of your (food) inspirations/idols?

I had a mentor, Cindy Parker, who was the university president's wife, but she did development, and she was definitely my mentor when I worked for the school. I did a lot of special events for her, and she's still with Johnson & Wales. She's moved up the ladder quite a bit. She's at Providence now, but she was always somebody that I looked up to, just the way she carried herself and got things done. Also, watching Jordan, my daughter, go through the program has really sparked that passion in me to try different things because she comes home so excited about it.

With owning a restaurant and catering company, do you ever get sick of cooking? When you're at home, do you ever end up just getting takeout?

I live near Lang Van [a Vietnamese restaurant]; it's like a mile from my house so I eat there quite a bit. [Or] I'll go home and eat cereal. When my daughter is there, she usually cooks, and it's still a pleasure for her because she's doing it in school. She gets in the kitchen and cooks a lot, but when I get home, if it's just me, I'll eat cold udon noodles from the counter at Earth Fare. The ironic thing is I've lost 15 pounds since December. We call it the banana pudding diet because they keep putting Laurie's banana pudding in the paper and it drives business. Every time it happens, there's food everywhere and I'll be here 10 hours and not have time to eat.