MOULTRIE, Ga. — Ivy Odom spends her days living the dream of anyone who enjoys Southern culture and Southern food: writing recipes and filming her show “Hey Y’all,” which caters to the millennial Southern woman with a blend of old school Southern hospitality and modern-day ease.

Suffice to say, every day is an adventure.

“Growing up, I always had Southern Living on my coffee table. I can remember being little and telling my Mama that I wanted to be a part of the magazine one day. I didn’t know what that was going to look like, but I just knew I wanted it. Some days I still find myself in awe that I got my dream job right out of college,” said Odom. “I’d never in a million years dreamed that I would be doing this now, but I absolutely love every second of it. I hate to say this is my dream job, because what if there are things out there that I couldn’t even dream up still waiting for me? I’m along for the ride and not stopping anytime soon.”

Having grown up in Moultrie, Odom was surrounded by Southern culture and small-town charm. It comes as no surprise that her story turned out the way it did.

Odom graduated from the University of Georgia in 2015 with a double major in Consumer Journalism and Spanish. From there, she went to culinary school, graduating first in her class from L’Academie de Cuisine in Gaithersburg, Maryland, in 2016.

According to Odom, most people around Moultrie know her best for her pound cakes.

“I don’t really have a favorite recipe. My favorite way to cook is to open my fridge and make something delicious with what I have on hand. Even though part of my job is writing recipes, my favorite thing to do is cook by feel and taste and just have fun with it. Right now, I make a mean Caesar salad from scratch,” said Odom.

Odom’s job title is recipe tester/developer for the Meredith Food Studios, which is exactly what it sounds like: a very tasty job.

“I work in the test kitchens to develop and test recipes for many brands in the Meredith Corporation portfolio — Southern Living being one, but also Real Simple, Food and Wine, People Magazine, Rachael Ray Everyday, and many more,” said Odom.

“When I’m not filming, I’m usually in my kitchen cooking and writing an average of four recipes a day! I also get to eat all of them, which is definitely the best part of the job,” she said. “When I am filming, my days are whirlwinds. We film most ‘Hey Y’all’ episodes in my home, which is so fun, but also comes with its struggles. I also co-host a show called Homemade vs. the Internet that we film in a video studio in our Birmingham office. I also travel for TV appearances all over the South. Every day is a new adventure!”

She’s the host of ‘Hey Y’all’, the show that is “aimed at the millennial Southern woman who appreciates old school southern hospitality but doesn’t always have the time or energy to pull off things our mothers and grandmothers did.”

“Before ‘Hey Y’all’ became a series, I did a lot of single recipe videos for Southern Living that were very successful, so the brand approached me about hosting my own video series. At first, it was talked about being purely a baking show, but then they asked me to pitch an original show idea to them. I did a lot of research and soul-searching and came up with the concept of featuring old Southern recipes and traditions that I had a personal connection to, and how I implemented them into my everyday modern life,” said Odom. “Coming up with a name for the show was fun — the brand actually had been toying with the idea of a Southern Living spin off called ‘Hey Y’all’ about modern Southern women, and once they heard my pitch we decided that this show would be it.”

Odom and the Moultrie-Colquitt County Chamber of Commerce will be hosting a brunch at the Southern Regional Technical College in Moultrie on Oct. 26 from 10 a.m. to noon. Tickets are available until Friday, Oct. 18, and are being sold for $25.

“I’m going to be giving a cooking demonstration and talking about my journey from Moultrie to where I am now, plus what an average day is like for me. At the end, I’m most excited about a meet and greet where anyone is welcome to come chat with me! I’m so excited to be coming home,” said Odom.

You can catch episodes of “Hey Y’all” by subscribing to Southern Living’s YouTube, Instagram and Facebook channels.