PATTI LABELLE: Hot to Trot in the Kitchen

By Karu F. Daniels, AOL Black Voices

Move over Martha Stewart -- Patti LaBelle is in the kitchen.

The Grammy Award winning R&B diva may be looking 65 in the eye, but she's showing no signs of slowing down.

This week, the Philadelphia native (legally known as Patricia Holt-Armstead) announced that launch of the 'Patti LaBelle -- Good Life' brand and introduced a product line that will include premium pepper products, her third cookbook and even an instructional cooking DVD.

"My new brand and line of products is my way of sharing my love of cooking, my family recipes and my vision of how to live 'the good life' with the world," LaBelle stated. "I'm so excited because I've wanted to develop my own line of products for many years. I look forward to adding a little bit of spice to kitchens everywhere!"

First up is the hot sauce the 'On My Own' chanteuse talked last year while on the red carpet for 'Idlewild.' A custom blended line of hot sauces and relishes that represents the spicy yet wholesome flair that she's is known for. The line includes five initial products: LaBelle No. 1 - Diced Fine Jalapenos; LaBelle No. 2 - Sweet Hot Jalapeno Relish; LaBelle No. 3 - Rich Red Blended Cayenne & Habanero Pepper Sauce; LaBelle No. 4 - Hot Flash Blended Habanero & Jalapeno Sauce; and LaBelle No. 5 - Pepper Clear Mild Pepper Sauce. The product line will be introduced later this year throughout major retail food outlets nationwide.

Following the launch of the pepper product line, she will release her third cookbook and first-ever instructional cooking DVD, both under the "Patti LaBelle - Good Life" brand.

We've all witnessed LaBelle's culinary skills on such talk shows as 'The Oprah Winfrey Show' and 'The Martha Stewart Show,' but the DVD will showcase her first comprehensive on-camera cooking exhibition (think Rachael Ray with soul).

LaBelle's previous cookbooks -- 'LaBelle Cuisine' and 'LaBelle Cuisine Lite' -- topped the best-seller charts and firmly established her as a respected figure in the culinary community.

Like the ones before it, the forthcoming titled contains recipes and anecdotes that reflect LaBelle's philosophy that good cooking and entertaining comes from the heart.

The 'lady Marmalade' singer also has kitchen items and food products are also in development.