Termite Lawyer in Mayo, SC

GREENVILLE — A new cookbook is giving Upstate residents another reason to eat mayonnaise, as if anybody needed one.

VisitGreenvilleSC, Greenville County’s tourism marketer, is releasing Eugenia Duke's Unofficial Mayo Guide to Greenville, a Duke’s Mayo-focused cookbook to celebrate the mayonnaise’s creation in Greenville 108 years ago.

The book features 24 recipes from local restaurants — like Comal 864, Soby’s and Stella’s Southern Bistro — all with a hefty dose of mayonnaise.

“Living in the South, you know that it's just an ingredient that everyone can't get enough of, and so we're super proud of that heritage,” said Brenda Cassabon, a public relations professional representing VisitGreenville.

She added “we kind of had a culinary gold mine on our hands, so to speak. And so we wanted to make sure that people knew that.”

VisitGreenville has capitalized on Duke’s Mayo’s cult following in recent years, introducing not just a cookbook but also a Mayo Trail with historic sites and local restaurants connected to Duke’s Mayo.

Cassabon said Greenville’s connection to Duke’s Mayo has flown under the radar in some ways. With Greenville approaching a number of culinary milestones – like Top Chef filming in the city and the Michelin Guide coming to the Southeast – now is the right time to remind people.

“I think it's a vehicle in order to tell Greenville's culinary story, and Duke’s is such a big part of that story,” Cassabon said.

South Carolina has long sworn by the classic mayonnaise known for its distinctive tang, even if the company is no longer based in the Palmetto State.

While Duke’s Mayo still operates a factory near Mauldin, the Boston-based private equity firm Advent International purchased Duke’s Virginia-based parent company earlier this year, according to previous Post and Courier reporting.

But Greenville is where it all started.

In 1917, Eugenia Duke began making sandwiches for soldiers stationed at Camp Sevier during World War I. She did so from her home kitchen in Greenville, selling the sandwiches for a dime a piece, according to a local historic marker.

The sandwiches were popular, but the mayonnaise was a hit.

By 1923, Duke began bottling the condiment from a factory along the Reedy River. The factory, now known as the Wyche Pavillion, still stands in downtown Greenville.

In 1929, Duke sold the company to a Virginia food distributor and served as spokesperson before eventually moving to California.

Many of the recipes in VisitGreenville’s cookbook feature traditional uses of mayonnaise, like coleslaw from Bobby’s BBQ or heirloom tomato sliders from Fireforge Crafted Beer.

Other recipes find more innovative ways to use mayonnaise, like Fork and Plough’s beef carpaccio with smoked paprika aioli or Feed and Seed’s pimento pierogi stuffed with potatoes, cheddar cheese, pimento peppers and mayonnaise.

The chefs at Topsoil even offer up a recipe for what they call “blueberry swamp cobbler pie.”

Cassabon said finding chefs to contribute a recipe using Duke’s Mayo wasn’t difficult.

“It seems that every Southern chef has a story with Duke’s and a really fond memory to it,” she said.