CHERI RENEE
DRURY
@IFYOUGIVEAGIRLAGRILL
Hi, I’m Cheri! I started my food blog CooksWellWithOthers.com a few years ago where I share family meals, lots of air fryer and slow cooker recipes, and some pretty delicious appetizers and party food. My family is the center of my world, and they highly approve of all the yumminess I create daily.
Q: WHEN DID YOU FIRST FALL IN LOVE WITH COOKING?
I GREW UP AROUND AMAZING FOOD, WHETHER MY PARENTS WERE COOKING TOGETHER IN THE KITCHEN, OR TREATING MY SIBLINGS AND I TO A RESTAURANT MEAL WHERE WE WERE ENCOURAGED TO BE ADVENTUROUS AND TRY NEW FOODS. I FELL IN LOVE WITH FOOD NETWORK WHEN IT FIRST BEGAN IN 1993 AND STARTED CREATING AND EXPERIMENTING IN MY OWN KITCHEN.
Q: WHEN DID YOU HEAR ABOUT BLACKSTONE, AND WHEN DID YOU START COOKING ON ONE?
I STARTED COOKING OUTSIDE MORE IN 2018 WHEN WE FINISHED OUR BACK PATIO (GRILLING, SMOKING, PELLET GRILL, ETC.). MY HUSBAND SUGGESTED GETTING A BLACKSTONE (SMART MAN!) HONESTLY, IT TOOK ME A WHILE TO FIND MY GROOVE WITH IT BUT NOW I WANT TO MAKE EVERYTHING ON MY BLACKSTONE.
Q: WHAT DO YOU DO FOR A LIVING AND HOW DID YOU GET STARTED DOING IT?
I TAUGHT SECOND GRADE FOR 20 YEARS, BUT STARTED MY FOOD BLOG COKSWELLWITHOTHERS.COM IN 2017, JUST AS A HOBBY. IT REALLY GREW QUICKLY, AND I WAS ABLE TO MAKE A MUCH BETTER INCOME FROM FOOD BLOGGING/ RECIPE CONTENT CREATING FULL TIME.
THAT’S WHEN I LEFT MY TEACHING CAREER AND EVENTUALLY STARTED IFYOUGIVEAGIRLAGRILL.COM IN 2021 TO SHARE SPECIFICALLY OUTDOOR COOKING RECIPES (MY FAVORITE BEING MY BLACKSTONE CREATIONS, OF COURSE).
Q: WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU'RE NOT COOKING?
MY FAMILY IS MY ABSOLUTE LIFE WHEN I AM NOT CREATING RECIPES AND WORKING ON MY WEBSITES. MY HUSBAND AND I HAVE A BLENDED FAMILY WITH 6 KIDS (AGES 14 TO 32) AND 2 GRANDKIDS (AGES 3 AND 5). BEING MY OWN BOSS AS A FULL TIME RECIPE CONTENT CREATOR GIVES ME SO MUCH MORE FLEXIBILITY TO ENJOY TIME WITH MY HUSBAND, KIDS, AND DAYS WITH THE GRANDKIDS, WHICH THEY REFER TO AS “GIGI DAY”.
