Wilma Kidd remembers being a nervous wreck when she competed in Deep Fried Masters on Destination America in 2014.
“I just wanted it to end,” says Kidd, owner of Lovell’s 31 in Richmond.
Kidd, who had been experimenting with bread pudding for more than thirty years, was tasked with making her signature banana bread pudding and then deep frying the tasty masterpiece. “I had to make it, bake it, coat it, and fry it – all in thirty minutes,” she says. “I also had to make the sauce.”
Lucky for her, she didn’t let her nerves get the best of her. She ended up winning first place in the first round of the competition. But she still had two more rounds to tackle. She went on to place second in the second round for her crabby puppy (a hush puppy with crab meat) and third in the final round with her take on a barbecue sandwich.
A Richmond native and graduate of Highland Springs High School and Tuskegee University in Alabama, Kidd has always loved to cook. When she was a young adult, her dad used to take the family to the Old Country Buffett where she found bread pudding on the buffet. It was destiny.
“I loved it,” she says. “I kept going back. I started craving it. Dad loved that buffet.”
Kidd decided she wanted to make her own bread pudding, and she began experimenting. On one of her tries, she added a banana to her recipe and the resulting banana bread pudding won praise from her family, including her son Vaughn, who passed away in 2016.
Starting a Business and Choosing Its Name
But, it wasn’t until the recognition she received on Deep Fried Masters, that Kidd felt confident enough to start her business in 2022. The company’s name is a combination of her 14-year-old granddaughter’s name, Angel Lovell, and the age of her son when he died.
Vaughn loved his mother’s bread pudding. “He believed it could be more than it was, not just available to family and friends,” Kidd says. “He also loved his daughter. Vaughn, Angel, and I would be in the kitchen together.”
Kidd’s family is still a crucial part of the testing process. “They have to come and approve it. It’s not served to anyone before they test it,” she says.
When she started the business, Kidd was cooking by sight and touch. “I had to slow down and figure out a real formula,” she says, adding that she is certified through the Virginia Department of Agriculture.
After months of experimenting with flavor profiles and recipes, Kidd held her first company event at Henrico County’s Juneteenth Celebration at Dorey Park in 2022. She made her first retail sale at the Market @ 25th in Church Hill that same summer.
Today, she sells her products in four stores in Richmond – Good Foods Grocery, Libbie Market, Ellwood Thompson (starting in May), and the Market @ 25th – and participates in various events, including the RVA Home Show, the Richmond Chocolate, Wine & Whiskey Festival, and this year’s Henrico County Juneteenth Celebration on June 15 at Dorey Park.
Wilma Kidd Is a Bread Pudding Superstar
Kidd’s bread pudding is also a crowd favorite. And, it’s no surprise. Her bread pudding is crusty and crunchy on the outside and creamy on the inside.
“It light and fluffy,” she says. “It does well as a cold dessert if you want to pair it with fresh fruit and ice cream.”
She currently has up to fourteen flavors. Her most popular flavors in order are maple sweet potato, banana cream and blueberry. “When we are out at events, we always run out of maple sweet potato,” she says.
She loves working with fresh fruits like blueberry, strawberry, and peach. During the holidays, she’ll put pumpkin, gingerbread and egg nog on the menu.
Kidd always creates a new flavor on her son’s birthday, February 26. She recently made carrot cake and Bailey’s Irish Creme.
When she created her carrot cake bread pudding for the first time, she didn’t know how her family would react. “They absolutely loved it,” she says, adding she is also working on two new flavors – coconut and apple pie – for summer.
Kidd has also teamed up with Richlands Dairy and Creamery, taking her business to a new level. “They have made an ice cream flavored with my maple sweet potato bread pudding called Maple Sweet Potato Dream,” she says. “It will be sold at creameries in Virginia.”
Later this summer, Kidd will be gearing up for the State Fair of Virginia, where she will sell her original deep-fried banana bread pudding.
With business moving forward at a fast pace, Kidd says she is surprised at how far she and the business have come in just two years. she says. “We are all so grateful and honored for all of our customers who follow us and purchase our products. Our greatest joy is seeing the smile on their faces as they enjoy our bread pudding.”
For more information about Wilma Kidd and Lovell’s 31 – including where to find her products – visit lovells31.com.
