Chris Ortego of Cotton Blues Cheesecake Company doesn’t believe success happens by chance, but he does believe in timing. “If you’re prepared when opportunity comes, that’s when you create your own luck.”
When Chris’ father was rushed to the emergency room in 2009, he mentioned to his nurse that his son was in the country club business. The nurse, whose own son had just graduated from Le Cordon Bleu in Las Vegas, asked for Chris’ contact information. Her son was Shaun Davis, a young pastry chef eager to tackle his first professional gig. Shaun called Chris immediately but was intimidated by the demands of running a dessert line in a busy kitchen; he spent the next two years working in a bakery and learning the business. Confident in the experience he gained, he called Chris again just as Chris was looking for a pastry chef for his new restaurant, Cotton Blues in Hattiesburg.
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Centenary college
In the woods of rural Rankin County lies the history of Mississippi’s first medical college.
Four pounds of fortuitous timing
The cheesecake with a story good enough to eat
Oxford's dirty business
A gas station-turned-plant shop is a perfect spot for an OIL change.
Secret garden
A walled and plant-filled courtyard is a private sanctuary for a Madison couple.
The Home Team
Old friends join forces to breathe life into a historic home on HGTV’s hit television series “Home Town.”
On the waterfront
A Jackson home takes full advantage of its lakeside location, swans and all.
Nourishing a community
Jerry Thompson’s heart and love of gardening combine to feed Tupelo children.
Climbing to the top
The Hattiesburg Zoo offers high views and fun times with animals.
CHICKEN COME HOME TO ROOST
Quarantine ignites a need for eggs and a home for feathered friends.
A heart for horses
Mississippi Horse Rescue offers a safe place for at-risk equines.
WELCOME TO THE VIRTUAL HUMANS FACTORY
Medical trials are risky business. Human subjects eager to help researchers find cures or treatments for life-threatening ailments put their trust in medical professionals. But what if these trials could be conducted without human testers?
Dancing on Your Own (Together)
A temporary club for an in-between moment.
COLTON COMES OUT
SAYING HE’S THE “HAPPIEST AND HEALTHIEST” HE’S EVER BEEN, THE FORMER BACHELOR CLARIFIES HIS ORIENTATION.
In Hot Pursuit
Chris Urmson’s company, Aurora, has merged with Uber’s self-driving unit to take on Waymo
The Diplomat
Daniel Dae Kim built a career by picking his battles, walking away from a job only when the inequities got too big to ignore. He still believes Hollywood can be reformed.
Cultivating Endless Positivity
Entrepreneur Uses Manifestation and Mindfulness to Find Success
GH: ALEXIS FACES THE MUSIC
Tensions are running high for Alexis and her loved ones when the disgraced and disbarred attorney, who is facing charges of attempted murder for her stabbing of Dante, arrives for her sentencing.
GH SCRIBES ON THE FALLOUT FROM FRANCO'S DEATH
Franco’s shocking demise at the hands of Peter have left Elizabeth fans wondering what the future holds for Franco’s widow — and for his killer, Peter.
SCIENCE PANEL: CONSIDER AIR COOLING TECH AS CLIMATE BACK-UP
The U.S. must seriously consider the idea of tinkering with the atmosphere to cool a warming Earth and accelerate research into how and whether humanity should hack the planet, the National Academy of Sciences said.
TWO SPACE FANS GET SEATS ON BILLIONAIRE'S PRIVATE FLIGHT
A billionaire’s private SpaceX flight filled its two remaining seats this week with a scientist-teacher and a data engineer whose college friend actually won a spot but gave him the prize.