Skip to main content

Sookie St. James might not have been a main character on Gilmore Girls, but she’ll always be one of the show’s stars to fans of the series. Sookie, portrayed by Melissa McCarthy, was a quirky and intense professional chef who took her job perhaps a little too seriously. Sookie was prone to outbursts and moments of intense emotion. Many of the scenes she appeared in were a touch over-animated. These are our three favorite Sookie moments

Sookie St. James screaming that she is pregnant in Norman Mailer’s face is a classic ‘Gilmore Girls’ moment 

In season 5, Sookie has an absolute meltdown when the Dragonfly Inn’s business adviser told her and Lorelai Gilmore to cut lunch until the inn was more profitable. While breakfast and dinner remained, it wasn’t good enough for Sookie. First, she suggested the business adviser hated her; then she suggested Michel Gerard should be stripped of his desk as a cost-cutting measure. 

Later, Sookie took aim at Norman Mailer, a famed author. After an impassioned monologue in front of Mailer and a journalist that blamed them for the cut lunch, she discovered she was pregnant. Shortly after, she ran into the dining room to tell the still-confused novelist. Sookie’s shrieking and Mailer’s understated congratulations make the moment a classic.

Sookie’s produce obsession led to some tense moments with her farmer husband, Jackson

Sookie and Jackson got married in season 2 of Gilmore Girls. Before they were husband and wife, Jackson supplied all of the produce for the inn. He continued to do so after they started dating. The intensity of their produce debates remains some of the character’s very best scenes. 

Melissa McCarthy is seen in a promotional photo for her stint at the Groundling Theater. McCarthy portrayed Sookie St. James
Melissa McCarthy | Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Fans of Gilmore Girls especially enjoy when Jackson and Sookie debated the size of the radishes that Jackson brought to the Dragonfly Inn. Sookie even considered settling the dispute by seeing if one could fit up their infant son’s nose. Thankfully, Lorelai stopped the argument before it got that far. 

Fans of ‘Gilmore Girls’ cringed when Sookie St. James stalked a food critic because of his review 

Sookie wasn’t great with criticism when it came to her cooking. In fact, she couldn’t deal with anything that wasn’t a rave review. Still, the famed chef might have taken it a bit too far when a food critic called her risotto “fine.” While fans cringe at the thought of Sookie following the food critic home to make him try her risotto a second time, her entire exchange with Lorelai was hilarious in its intensity. 

Related

‘Gilmore Girls’: 3 Moments That Cause Fans Secondhand Embarrassment

Sookie explained that her dying mother lived after eating her risotto and even claimed the doctors said the risotto was why. She was so unhinged about the “magic risotto” that she stewed over it for days before tracking down the food critic. While Sookie’s reaction to the word “fine” was overblown, it certainly proves she was passionate about her cooking.