SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) - Approaching a year since the Food Network pulled the plug on her TV show, Paula Deen plans to hit the road this summer to cook live for fans.
Five dates have been set so far, including Nashville on August 27 at TPAC's Andrew Jackson Hall.
Paula Deen Ventures, a new company formed to help launch a comeback for the celebrity cook, announced Monday that she's booking 20 shows in cities across the U.S. starting in June. It says the 90-minute "Paula Deen Live!" shows will feature a mix of cooking demonstrations, games with audience members and personal stories.
"I cannot wait to get on the road and meet so many of my amazing fans during these shows," Deen said in a statement.
The tour kicks off in June, a year after Deen's admission under oath that she had used racial slurs in the past became public. The Food Network and other corporate sponsors soon parted company with Deen.
Her offending comments were during a court deposition in a lawsuit by a former employee making harassment and discrimination claims against Deen an d her brother, Bubba Hiers. The suit was settled last August.
The cooking tour is the latest piece of a comeback strategy Deen rolled out in February when she announced a deal with the Najafi Companies, an Arizona-based private investment firm that's pouring $75 to $100 million into rebooting her public career.
The other four cities announced ALSO are in friendly Southern territory. Deen will take the stage in her home base of Savannah and in Atlanta, plus San Antonio, Texas. The tour kicks off June 21 in Pigeon Forge, where Deen has a new restaurant in the works.