Nicole A. Taylor

[4] Developed over three years, the book contains more than 100 recipes which Nneka Okona described in Brooklyn Magazine as "approachable for even novice cooks and all...restorative because they’re accompanied not only by instruction but also a story, a context for why the dish means something to [Taylor] on a deeper level...making Up South as much a cookbook as a narrative.

Writing in The New Republic, Stacia L. Brown similarly described the cookbook as "combined personal history, migration story, and recipe collection.

Yahoo praised Taylor's "knack for using new ingredients and her own personal experiences to create wholly original interpretations.

[12] Taylor served as director of special projects for chef Claus Meyer's Brownsville Community Culinary Center.

[13] In 2020, Taylor was nominated for two James Beard Foundation Awards, in the categories of Best Personal Essay, Short Form, and Innovative Storytelling.