Francis Lam
More books by Francis Lam…
“Generally speaking, much of a culture's food production has historically been the province of its women, and has taken place within the home. Alcohol, however, is an important exception, as its production and consumption have, in many cultures, remained the jurisdiction of men. This was especially true in the gendered Old South, where plantation gentlemen used whiskey to construct a homosocial environment apart from women and children, and common Southern men used it to liven any meal or social gathering. Bourbon, more than other staples in the southern culinary tradition, thus offers a singular insight into white Southern masculinity.”
― Cornbread Nation 7: The Best of Southern Food Writing
― Cornbread Nation 7: The Best of Southern Food Writing
“Something is simmering wildly throughout the American South. Every time I look around, I see bold new expressions of Southern cuisine waving a proud flag. Every time I look around, I see bold new expressions of Southern cuisine waving a proud flag. And this expression of food has captured people’s attention, because it is the story not only of Southern cuisine, but also of America’s identity. In my short time as a professional chef, I have seen the spotlight pass over every cuisine, from French to Italian to Japanese to Spanish, from nouvelle to comfort to molecular. However, what is happening now in the American South is not part of a trend: It is a culinary movement that is looking inward, not outward, for its inspiration. Every innovation that moves it forward also pulls along with it a memory of something in the past. As Faulkner famously said: "The past is never dead. It’s not even past.”
― Cornbread Nation 7: The Best of Southern Food Writing
― Cornbread Nation 7: The Best of Southern Food Writing
“Southerners have been doing "farm to table"—mostly by necessity—since long before the phrase was taken up by every foodie in the land.”
― Cornbread Nation 7: The Best of Southern Food Writing
― Cornbread Nation 7: The Best of Southern Food Writing
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