You asked, and I listened.
A couple weeks ago, I posted on Facebook asking if anyone actually likes fruit cake.
Some said yes, some said heck no.
The overwhelming majority of people who said yes, told me I HAD to go and try Southern Supreme. So, I did.
Tucked away in a rural corner of Chatham County sits a building where Christmas treats and sweets are crafted every year.
Southern Supreme Fruit Cake Company is the king of the cake around here and for good reason.
"We should make right around 210,000 to 215,000 pounds of fruit cake this year,” said Randy Scott, co-owner of Southern Supreme.
Walking back to the fruit cake kitchen with Scott, you can't help but smell something incredible. If there ever was a Christmas kitchen, this would be it.
The process starts at the massive mixing bowl where butter, sugar, flour and eggs create the base.
"Now he's adding the walnuts and pecans,” said Scott. “And when we say there's more nuts than fruit, we mean there's more nuts than fruit. In a 300-pound batch of fruit cake, there's 95 pounds of pecans and walnuts."
Once it's combined, the mixture is spread into pans and put into the oven. "It usually takes about an hour and 30 minutes to cook in here," said Scott.
Then the ladies at the weigh station take over. "Ms. Jane, she's weighing out 8 oz of fruitcake, which goes over here to the presses where it's formed,” said Scott. “Then once it's formed, it goes onto the tray and out comes four 8oz fruitcakes."
As a final step, the cakes are glazed and topped with red cherries and green pineapple.
Once they set, they're carted across the hall to be packaged, sealed, little boxed, then big boxed. It's a process that's come a long way in the last 30-plus years.
Berta Scott, Randy's mother, started this operation in the mid 80's when the family needed extra income.
“When we first started, we had to convince people to try our fruitcake," said Berta. Even her family wasn't fully on board right away.
"She said if y'all help me get my little fruitcake business off the ground, I'll give you part of it,” said Randy Scott. “Sure, mom, that's what we want to be is fruitcake magnets."
Despite the skepticism, they agreed to make this a family affair. "Started out in my sister's single-car garage, my daddy converted it over into a small kitchen,” said Randy.
The cakes were a hit, catapulting the business into a successful venture and allowing the Scotts to construct an actual building to house the operation, one they've added onto eight times since 1990.
So, what makes this fruit cake, supreme?
"It's got very little fruit, but lots of nuts,” said Ms. Scott. “Us Southerners like nuts."
With curiosity, and senses peaked. It was my turn to see what all the fuss is about.
Upon first taste, I was really surprised. It was delicious and didn’t taste at all like fruit cake.
Once a fruit cake cynic, I’m now a true believer.