Southerners love to eat. It's a way of life, and we love to serve the foods dearest to our hearts. Savannah Magazine asked several local chefs and caterers who were among our readers favorites in the 2007 "Best of Savannah" balloting to share favorite or signature recipes. Here are their choices.

Food and props styled by Libbie Summers.

A futuristic cocktail reception at the Savannah College of Art and Design’s Gulfstream Center for Furniture and Industrial Design earlier this year gave master party planner Bethany Hewitt an opportunity to provide “really delicious food in a really creative environment.”

Americans consumed more than 55 billion cups of tea last year alone, and approximately 85 percent of that was served over ice. But there is a revival brewing, and many of us are returning to the traditional hot tea of our ancestors. Three local tearooms make enjoying a cup of tea a pleasurable affair.

Barbeque. Bar-b-que. BBQ. Regardless of the spelling, the mere hint at the word sets mouths to watering and noses sniffing for telltale hints of delicious hickory smoke. And Savannah is blessed to have several little smokehouses downtown and many more in the surrounding areas. Here are some favorites.

Think the life of a restaurant reviewer and food critic sounds like fun?  Think again. There’s more to the story than meets the taste buds.

Southbridge Beauty

STYLED BY IKEDA LOWE           LOCATION COURTESY EMMELINE ROUTON

Made for the Shade: A cool and shady courtyard is the perfect spot for a late afternoon meal before the hot days of summer drive diners indoors. Unusual and interesting treasures from local stores transform a tabletop into a work of art.

This happy couple left corporate America to cater to both novices and professional chefs by opening their “hardware store for cooks.”

These brothers-in-law (hence their company's name, NLAWS Produce), who grew up five houses apart, graduated from the same high school and married sisters in the synagogue they've attended since infancy, have joined together to provide produce to Savannah restaurants.

An advocate of organic food who encourages environmental stewardship, Farmer D tends his garden in the heart of Hampton Island.