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Food

Paula Deen Episode Of 'E! True Hollywood Story' Airs Monday

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The story of Paula Deen's crumbling career is hardly news any more. But how the chef, restaurateur, author, actress, television host, and 2011 Rose Parade Grand Marshall rose to the household name she became is a lesser known tale. And "E! True Hollywood Story," jumped right on it wasting no time in the production of the Food Network host's episode, which is set to air on Monday.

"It is a rags to riches tale of a broke, divorced mother of two who carved out a multi-million dollar empire as America's southern sweetheart, only to see it all fall apart amidst a national scandal ignited by a lawsuit," they say of the show, which has interviews with many close -- and not so close -- to Deen.

“She will always have an audience," says Anthony Bourdain. "I won’t be in it, but she will have an audience."

And Bourdain is probably right. When Deen made her first appearance in Houston after the media meltdown to a crowd of fans that paid up to $400 to see her.

The episode will discuss the Queen of Southern Cuisine's beginnings in Albany, GA, to her 20 year bout with agoraphobia, to her remarkable rise as the hottest restaurateur in Savannah and her surprising 13 year run as Food Network sensation. No doubt to have something, anything positive out there about Deen is a dream for her newly-hired publicist.

"I had a little rough patch this summer," says Deen, downplaying her media meltdown. "But you know it was an opportunity to learn. I learned a lot about myself. I certainly learned a lot about my business."

The episode will air at 10:00 PM ET/PT. You can view some clips of the show here:

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