Patti LaBelle has clearly gotten the memo about diversifying one’s portfolio. Last year sweet potato pies with the music legend’s face on the box sold out in a flash at Walmart thanks to a viral video review, leading LaBelle to expand the line with cakes. (Sadly, they are not called Patti Cakes.) Now, LaBelle’s onto the natural next phase of her lifestyle branding: a cooking show.
The Cooking Channel has ordered six half-hour episodes of her new series Patti LaBelle’s Place, set to debut next month. LaBelle will enlist a healthy roster of celebrity guest stars — 50 Cent! Oprah’s BFF Gayle King! Carla Hall! — to help her whip up homey-sounding dishes, many of which boast her name in the title (think Patti’s Southern-Style Fried Corn and Patti’s Secret Homemade Salad Dressing, which will presumably no longer be a secret once it’s broadcast on national television).
Her new cooking show debuts December 3 with two back-to-back episodes.
For posterity’s sake, here’s that video review of the “Lady Marmalade” singer’s sweet potato pie, which has racked up more than 5 million views (if she’s lucky, maybe he’ll also review her new show):