SFA Past Events
2010 – The Global South
SFA Symposium
The Global South
October 22-24, 2010
The Southern Foodways Alliance, an institute of the center for the Study of Southern Culture, hosted the thirteenth annual Southern Foodways Symposium October 22-24, 2010, in Oxford, Mississippi, and on the campus of the University of Mississippi. The Delta Divertissement, in its eighth year, took place October 21-22 in nearby Greenwood and Clarksdale. This year’s theme was the Global South. From West Africato Cuba, from Vietnam to Mexico, we traced the influences of places and peoples on Southern culinary culture. 375 people from around the nation attended the sold-out event.
The SFA presented programming that challenged existing cultural concepts and complicated beliefs about the region. Among the speakers was Chingo Bling a Mexican-American rapper from Houston, Texas, whose album “They Can’t Deport Us All,” examined immigration policy and prejudice. Also on the roster was Francis Lam, a senior editor at Salon magazine, who profiled the Croatian and Vietnamese shrimping communities in Bilioxi, Mississippi.
Jim Peacock, professor of anthropology at the University of North Carolina, argued for grounded globalism, his theory for how the South has evolved to accommodate new arrivals. Jessica Harris, the Ray Charles Chair in Material Culture at Dillard University in New Orleans, along with Theaster Gates and the Black Monks of Mississippi, paid tribute to the African roots of Southern street vending.
Guests feasted on meals prepared by chefs from across the region. Eddie Hernandez of Taqueria de Sol in Atlanta served turnip green tamales with cracklins. Michelle Bernstein of Michy’s in Miami dished shrimp and sweet potato ceviche and braised oxtail stew with gnocchi. Also on the bill of fare were platters of pit-cooked barbacoa de cabeza from Kelly English and Jonathan Magallanes, both of Memphis, and whole hog barbecue tacos from Jim ‘N Nick’s of Birmingham.
Each year the SFA presents three awards. Peter Nguyen accepted the Ruth Fertel Keeper of the Flame Award on behalf of the Vietnamese fishing communities of the Gulf Coast. The Ruth Fertel Keeper of the Flame Award honors an unsung hero or heroine of the culinary world, a foodways tradition bearer of note. In honor of Nguyen’s work, SFA collaborator Joe York made a short film, “Phat Tai,” which focused on Vietnamese labor and life on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
The John Egerton Prize – which comes with a $5,000 cash stipend -- was awarded to Calvin Head on behalf of the of West Holmes Community Development Organization (WHCDO), based near the Mississippi town of Mileston. Twelve African American-owned vegetable farms participate in the WHCDO farm initiative. The John Egerton Prize recognizes artists, writers, scholars, activists and others whose work addresses issues of race, class, gender, and social and environmental justice through the lens of food.
The SFA’s Craig Claiborne Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Christiane Lauterbach, editor and publisher of Knife & Fork in Atlanta, recognizing her 30-plus years of determined documentation of the South’s emergent global food scene. The Craig Claiborne Award goes to an individual whom all thinking eaters should know, the sort of person who has made an indelible mark upon our cuisine and our culture, the sort of person who has set regional standards and catalyzed national dialogues.
The SFA’s mission is to document, study, and celebrate the diverse food cultures of the changing American South. That mission is grounded in the notion that food is a lens through which a region and culture as vast and varied as ours can be embraced and understood.
Friday, August 20, 2010 @ Warehouse Row
5-8 p.m.
Featuring blazing-hot and icebox-cold fried chicken by Daniel Lindley of St. John's restaurant. And whole hog bbq pork tacos – using hogs from Sequatchie Cove Farm and Riverview Farms – from Drew Robinson of Jim 'N Nick's. And lots more bites and drinks from local talent.
With smart and short food films by the SFA's own Joe York. And music by Chattanooga's own Gerle Haggard.
With an afternoon detour to Lodge Mfg., in South Pittsburgh, Tennessee, the cast-iron capital of the South (and beyond).
Exploring the Global South along the Buford Highway
International Corridor
June 24-26, 2010
In 2010 we drew a bead on the changing American South in Atlanta, Georgia, the cultural and social capital of the New South. Buford Highway, arguably the region’s oldest and most diverse international corridor, was the nexus of our explorations.With expert Southern Foodways Sherpas in the lead, we explored the strip malls and reconfigured fast food bunkers where intrepid eaters feast on some of the region’s best (Chinese) barbecue, and (Salvadoran) fried chicken.
We plumbed the depths of the Buford Highway Farmer’s Market and took note of cross-cultural passions for preserved pork and bitter greens. We breakfasted on Korean pastries gorged with green tea cream cheese that tasted, somehow, like a red velvet riff. Although much of our time was spent exploring working class eateries, we ate high on the hog, too, courtesy of a dinner at Taqueria del Sol, Mike Klank’s homage to Monterrey by way of Memphis, and a dim sum luncheon at Abattoir, Anne Quatrano’s latest restaurant, set in a onetime meat packing plant.
- For the event brochure, click here.
- For the final schedule of events, click here.
- For the Buford Highway History and Sherpa Tours click here.
Hill Country Barbecue Market
On the eve of the Big Apple BBQ Block Party
June 11, 2010
5-8 p.m.
Eats
We’ll deliver delirious riffs on traditional dishes -- Catfish Tamales with Comeback Tartar Sauce, Chow-Chowed Kewpie Q with Grits, French Onion Fried Pig Ears, and Sock Sausage with Sweet Potato Biscuits.
- Elizabeth Karmel of Hill Country Barbecue, New York, NY
- John Currence of City Grocery, Oxford, MS
- Ashley Christensen of Poole’s Diner, Raleigh, NC
- Tyler Brown of The Capitol Grill, Nashville, TN
Films
Watch 3 short documentaries, directed by the SFA’s Joe York, including the premier of Cut/Chop/Cook, an homage to the Scott family of pitmasters, from Hemingway, South Carolina, underwritten by the Union Square Hospitality Group.
Music
One Ring Zero, the Brooklyn-based collective, will provide interstitial musical moments, including a song composed just for this event, wherein Michael Hearst and Joshua Camp sing, with Theremin accompaniment, Ashley Christensen’s recipe for Chow-Chowed Kewpie Q with Grits.
Beverages from
Lazy Magnolia of Kiln, Mississippi
Mountain Valley Spring Water of Hot Springs Arkansas.
April 25, 2010
4-7 p.m. @ City House
1222 4th Ave N.
Nashville, TN
EATS
Enjoy potlikker soaked hot water cornbread. Expect bbq. Expect culinary riffs and bites and feints and jabs.
- Tandy Wilson of City House
- Tyler Brown of The Hermitage
- Pat Martin of Martin’s BBQ
- Sands Soul Food
FILMS
Travel the South through SFA produced and directed short films that document and celebrate regional food culture.
MUSIC
Featuring Ketch Secor and Morgan Jahnig (from Old Crow Medicine Show) and Friends
DRINKS
Yazoo Brewing Company
Corsair Distillery
Mountain Valley Spring Water
Restaurateur Danny Meyer presented to guests at Taste of the South in 2010.
Blackberry Farm
January 7-9, 2010
At the 2010 Blackberry Farm Taste of the South Gala, we devoured scrambled egg mousse, foie gras ravioli, smoky grilled duck, braised pork shoulder, and parsnip candy. Guest chefs included Ashley Christensen, Poole's Diner, Raleigh, NC; Edward Lee, 610 Magnolia, Louisville, KY; John Shields, Town House, Chilhowie, VA; Karen Urie Shields, Town House, Chilhowie, VA; Joe Truex, Repast, Atlanta, GA. Wine selections by Turley Wine Cellars. Guest Distiller, Julian Van Winkle, Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery, Louisville, KY.
- Click here for the menu.
