Faith, family, and food have always been at the forefront of the life of Johanna Wilson Jones. Her mama, Catherine Wilson, always put heaps of love into all her pots and pans and onto her plates.

Each day, her mama took the time to think about what her family enjoyed eating before making meals flavorful and memorable. “We ate as family seven days a week,’’ said Jones, an award-winning columnist and food writer who worked professionally as a journalist for nearly 20 years.

“Nothing was lacking in our meals. My mama put her heart into every morsel. She made them delicious enough to be irresistible and comforting enough to linger at the kitchen table for hours afterward.”

Jones, a native of New York City, developed a fascination and fondness for food while growing up in Orangeburg County, S.C. Her grandmama, Virgie Lee Brown, who fished most days of the week, would prepare her bream for breakfast. The fish was seasoned with secret spices, coated in cornmeal, and then fried until caramel brown. The lone protein guest starred with smooth, buttery grits topped with stewed tomatoes plucked from her grandma’s vast garden. When Wilson was a full-time food writer and restaurant critic, she incorporated her heritage and learning into the way she wrote about food and reviewed eateries.

“From my youth, I discovered that food brings people together when nothing else can. People fuss and fight about religion and politics, but they relax when great food is the focus. They relish relationships then, not riffs.”