Joester Brassell, known by Oxford locals as Mama Jo, is the true soul behind the soul food at Mama Jo’s Country Cookin’.

Located on Old Highway 7, customers are greeted by the smiling faces of employees and the smell of fried chicken, green beans and fried cornbread when they walk into her restaurant. Brassell, a Taylor, Mississippi, local, has been cooking since she was a child and is passionate about sharing her gift to the Oxford community. 

“My cooking is not learned,” Brassell said. “It is a gift from God.”

Brassell said that she never learned how to cook; she considers it a spiritual gift, and was born knowing how to cook. At seven years old, Brassell cooked her first meal consisting of fried chicken, turnip greens and fried cornbread. Ever since, Brassell has lived for and dreamed of cooking. 

“Sometimes, recipes will be written up on the wall, and I wake up and it’s there,” Brassell said. “I know it’s a gift from God.” 

After working as a chef for the Kappa Alpha Order fraternity and the Alpha Omicron Pi sorority at the University of Mississippi, Brassell decided to open her own restaurant in 2005. Brassell has expanded Mama Jo’s Country Cookin’ to even more customers. She has opened another location in the Chevron gas station at 725 Molly Barr Road. 

“I thought, hey, I’m doing all this cooking, you know, let me do it for me,” Brassell said. 

Brassell said that she has felt the support of the Oxford community as a Black-owned business. She has given back to the community through feeding the hungry and remaining faithful to serving her customers. 

Brassell celebrates Black History Month by wearing traditional African style dress, participating in celebrations at her church and most importantly, cooking traditional food to celebrate Black culture. 

“Cooking is really one of the good things,” Brassell said, “and I’ve done that all throughout Black History month.”

Mama Jo’s Country Cookin’, located at 1503 Old Highway 7 North, is open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday.