Written by Peyton Hassinger
One bite of his mother’s cornbread changed everything. That single mouthful—rich, textured, and unmistakably homemade—would one day inspire Patrick Calhoun to launch Calhoun Bend Mill, a company that would redefine quick Southern comfort foods. From his humble beginning selling homemade stone-ground cornmeal from the trunk of his car to local retailers while attending college, Calhoun quickly realized he was on to something.
It was during a weekend visit home from college that Calhoun tasted his mother’s cornbread and noticed something different—an earthy richness and coarser texture that set it apart. When he couldn’t find any in stores, his mother revealed her secret: the corn from their farm was given to a friend to grind into stone-ground cornmeal using a grist mill. At that moment, a lightbulb went off for Calhoun.
Though it might have seemed like a small moment at the time, this was monumental in Calhoun’s life. He recognized an untapped market that had the potential to enrich a lot of Southern kitchens. “It was like something in me said, oh, this is something I want to do,” says Calhoun. From there, he began grinding, packaging and selling stone ground corn meal all while developing a line of mixes made with corn grown on his family’s farm.
What began as trunk sales to local retailers grew into a nationally distributed brand, thanks to the success of mixes like his best-selling Peach Cobbler. “My family first laughed at it, saying it would never sell. Well, fast forward, it’s our number one seller, and to my knowledge, we were the first company in America to develop and market Peach Cobbler Mix,” says Calhoun.
He discovered an unexpected demand when his unique mixes really highlighted the fact that there was nothing like them on the shelves. He sought to always embody intention in each mix, honoring the company’s slogan, “Like Mom’s cooking!” From there, production soared. Calhoun found that quick mixes had been neglected on the whole. “We were the originators of products like that,” he says. His line now includes a variety of quick mixes, from Apple Crisp Mix to Nashville Hot Style Chicken Fry Mix.
Despite their success, Calhoun was not immune to the struggles that come with starting a business. Learning how to finance his business, figuring out where to target a desired audience, and managing supply and demand were all struggles that Calhoun had to wrestle while simultaneously managing Calhoun Bend Mill. Despite the struggle to balance it all, Calhoun was never deterred. He drew inspiration and support from his mother and wife who were there during every hurdle that business ownership threw at him. “We’d bake up to 10 cobblers just to find the right one,” says Calhoun. “It was all about trial and error.”
One of the core values that centers Calhoun’s business is his faith. Flying back from a food show in Detroit, he recalls, “I had an epiphany that I felt like I wanted to put a Bible scripture on every single package, an inspiration to someone who is having a bad day.” His packaging now shows Proverbs 3:5-6.
Calhoun has since received many stories of hope and inspiration where the verse encouraged people on their roughest days. “This verse is not to condemn, judge, anybody. They’re just there for God to use them in the manner that He sees,” Calhoun says.
As Southern Makers, Calhoun Bend Mill values not only the quality of Southern food, but also the authenticity of each meal. “When I started my company, my inspiration was not to mimic a culture that was not me. It was really about creating products that reflected where I was from in Northern Louisiana,” says Calhoun. Now based in Tennessee, Calhoun Bend Mill continues to honor its Louisiana roots while celebrating the rich traditions of Southern-style cooking. Calhoun Bend Mill has no desire to rewrite the warmth of the Southern dinner table, instead they hope that when someone takes a bite of pecan pie or fried green tomatoes, they feel a taste of home.
With a cookbook on the horizon and generations of family recipes at its core, Calhoun Bend Mill continues to blend tradition with innovation—offering a true taste of home, Like Mom’s Cooking! Readers can look forward to a strawberry cheesecake recipe incorporating their famous Strawberry Pie Mix, a sweet potato casserole recipe, a pecan pie recipe, and so much more.
