Celebrity chef says people have Southern food all wrong, shares what her family ate

Southern food may have a reputation for being heavy and unhealthy, but celebrity chef Tiffany Derry says that stereotype misses a big part of what's traditionally been served on tables across the South.

"I think a lot of times that criticism comes from folks who don't actually understand the South," Derry told Fox News Digital.

The Texas-born chef and restaurateur, who competed on "Top Chef" and recently became a judge on "MasterChef," pointed to her own family's Louisiana roots as an example. 'MASTERCHEF' FINALIST SAYS BUSY FAMILIES ARE LOSING SOMETHING MORE IMPORTANT THAN HOME-COOKED MEALS "We had a farm," she said.

"I ate from the farm very much." Derry said fresh vegetables were a routine part of meals growing up — long before "farm-to-table" became a restaurant buzzword.

"It wasn't this farm-to-table thing.

It was what you did," she said.

Neighbors would share what they grew, while meals featured relatively small amounts of protein alongside rice, peas, vegetables and beans, Derry recalled.

DOLLY PARTON'S FAVORITE SOUTHERN DISHES, FROM CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS TO BANANA PUDDING She said foods commonly associated with Southern cooking today don't tell the entire story.

"It's important to not just tell the story of the country cooking where we talk about mac and cheese and we talk about biscuits and biscuits and gravy," Derry said.

Those heavier dishes represented "such a very small amount of the cooking" and weren't "everyday" foods in her experience.

Cooking was also a family affair .

Derry said her grandmother had 11 children and she has more than 50 cousins.

As a child, Derry helped prepare greens, peas and green beans.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTER "People don't really understand where food comes from," she said.