Atlantic Foodways Conference celebrates the foundations and sustainable resurgence of Lowcountry cuisine

This post first appeared in Indy Week.

A distinguished group of academics, chefs and farmers converged last Friday to both examine the foundations of South Carolina’s Lowcountry cuisine and celebrate its sustainable resurgence during the Atlantic Foodways Conference at UNC Greensboro.

Charleston Chef Sean Brock

This was the first year that the annual conference —which also examined the native foodways and transatlantic impact of Italy, France and Spain—featured high-profile chefs who are influencing contemporary cuisine through their commitment to restore fading traditions. The Lowcountry was ably represented by Sean Brock of Charleston’s acclaimed Husk and McGrady’s restaurants.

“I’ve been lucky enough to watch and be part of the rebirth of one of America’s first cuisines,” said Brock, who grew up in rural Virginia before moving to Charleston during a low point in the city’s now-booming food scene. A decade ago, he added, “People came to this beautiful city from around the world with romantic ideas about great food in their minds, but the rice was Uncle Ben’s and the grits was Quaker instant. They were not satisfied and the cuisine was dismissed.”

As in other historic food communities, Brock and other concerned chefs worked closely with local and national growers, cultural anthropologists and food scientists to identify heirloom plant species that could be restored through seed projects. Some are now thriving, like the Carolina Gold rice, Sea Island red peas and juicy Dancy tangerines used in a four-course dinner curated by Brock.

Keynote speaker David Shields, a prolific author and president of the influential Carolina Gold Rice Foundation, commended Brock on his leadership in sustainable restoration of Lowcountry foodways. “This is not a cuisine of re-enactment,” he said firmly. “What’s been brought back is the ingredients, and those ingredients give permission for creativity.”

Brock's deeply flavored Senegalese Gumbo as prepared by
Chef Jay Pierce of Lucky 32 Southern Kitchen.

The Lowcountry dinner was prepared by Greensboro and Cary chef Jay Pierce of Lucky 32 Southern Kitchen and served at the elegant Proximity Hotel. It started with a benne (sesame seed) oyster stew, a Lowcountry classic that was punched up with glossy bacon from Allan Benton’s legendary Smoky Mountain Country Hams and creamy Old Mill grits from Guilford County. It was followed by Senegalese fish gumbo, whose unexpected spice profile provided a flavorful nod to slaves whose culinary achievements generally were attributed to white plantation hostesses who rarely stepped inside their own kitchens.

Pierce took the lead on a “Roots & Shoots” plate that featured braised pickled turnips and greens alongside the red peas from Anson Mills, which had been simmered in a luscious ham hock broth. Some diners regretted the lack of cornbread while others contentedly slurped the soupy remains. The meal finished with cakelike chocolate and a tangy orange sorbet distinctively drizzled with natural birch syrup.

The Lowcountry sessions featured key voices in the efforts to more fully document the abundance of antebellum Charleston’s farms and kitchen gardens. Shields delivered a powerful discourse that tracked the ways foods migrated and changed – some to the point of extinction through aggressive manipulation meant to adapt to local conditions. He also linked the seemingly “magical” ability of slaves to excel in plantation kitchens to specific marketing of those procured for that very purpose from rice-growing regions of Western Africa.

Marcie Cohen Ferris

Marcie Cohen Ferris of UNC Chapel Hill presented a preview of her new book, The Edible South: The Power of Food and the Making of an American Region, which is scheduled for fall publication by UNC Press. Her remarks focused on the cultural politics of Charleston’s “culinary brand” during the growing tourism economy of the 1930s through the 1950s.

“No city packaged and sold the ‘Old South’ better than Charleston,” said Ferris, noting the port city fashioned itself as the epicenter of all things great and Southern. “Masterminded by white elites, they rewrote the city’s history.”

As represented by an ever-present demure Southern belle, this imagined history ignored slavery by depicting black men in romanticized field labor and women who spoke in vernacular while deploying “culinary wizardry” in well-appointed kitchens. It also dismissed a large Jewish community that established the nation’s second oldest synagogue building, which today is the oldest in continuous use.

By the late 1930s, popular national magazines were printing Lowcountry recipes and touting the appeal of culinary vacations. Some homes near the historic Battery were converted into boarding houses while others attracted Northern socialites like Claire Booth Luce, who became the “invented mistress” of her plantation.

The fascination with the South and its air of high society extended to New York City, where the flagship B. Altman’s department store featured a Charleston garden restaurant complete with a Tara-like courtyard setting.

Recent scholarship has revealed such whitewashed depictions and dumbed-down food as creations of a powerful public relations campaign, but many people still cling to the myths.
"Lowcountry tourism really transformed the flavor and racism of the culinary South in a way that still has resonance and power today," Ferris said.

Kitchen toys for holiday giving

This post first appeared in the Independent Weekly on Dec. 19, 2012.

Photo (c) Jeremy M.  Lange, Independent Weekly

For the dedicated cook, a partridge in a pear tree doesn't compare to a fine paring knife as the ideal holiday gift. And those three French hens would benefit from basting with a melted block of rich European butter while roasting to a golden glow in your new convection oven.

We checked with area chefs, cookbook writers and specialty food purveyors to see what they would most like to give or receive as a holiday gift. There's still plenty of time to find it or to exchange something lame for something fab. Consider their tips when shopping for your favorite foodie.

Tempted by that novelty whisk with a pink pig handle? People who love to work in kitchens do not necessarily love kitschy kitchen toys, says Jay Pierce, the outspoken chef at Cary's Lucky 32 Southern Kitchen and a contributor to Eatocracy, a CNN food blog.

"I'm pretty picky when it comes to ingredients or gadgets, so I'm not liable to get excited about something that was on closeout at Big Lots or T.J. Maxx," says Pierce, who confesses a passion for Luxardo cherries and chocolate-covered pecans. "I do love antique canning jars, mostly the Italian style with the hinged lid. They're great in small sizes for storing dried ingredients like hibiscus and chiles."

Other food lovers echoed Pierce's sentiments, saying they hope Santa loads his sleigh with simple but distinctive treats this year.

"In the interest of finding a more simple life, I am a huge fan of consumable gifts—especially cheese," says Portia McKnight of Chapel Hill Creamery, which this year earned multiple awards for its Asiago-inspired Calvander cheese. "We love to receive cheese and nuts. Pecans, almonds, hazelnuts, Brazil nuts, walnuts ... they're all on my Top 10 list."

April Schlanger, co-owner of Cary's eco-friendly Sip ... A Wine Store, would be delighted to receive wine as a holiday gift. She's especially keen on Love Lies Bleeding, a pinot noir by the bio-dynamic producer Dominio IV, and Cuvee du Chat by Beaujolais Villages. "They're sexy and fun and both smell just great," she says. They'd taste especially fine, she adds, served in stemless Riedel Swirl wine glasses. "They never tip over so you can't spill your wine. I'm going to give these to people because they are a really fun conversation piece."

Jonathan Bonchak of Durham's Counter Culture Coffee, who was just named 2013 Southeast Regional Brewer's Cup Champion, hopes for some small-batch bourbon in his Christmas stocking. But when it comes to giving, he prefers presents that are fun but ultimately practical. "I'd give everyone a single-origin coffee subscription, a hand grinder and a pour-over cone so they'll always have really great coffee," he says.

Much like checking a smoke alarm when the time changes, Paul Mosca uses the holidays as a reminder to freshen his spice drawer. "It's a great time to restock the basics and add a few really special items," says Mosca, founder of Raleigh's Elemental Chocolate. "One of my favorites is theMilwaukee Avenue Steak Seasoning by the Spice House. I love it sprinkled over fresh popped popcorn."

Amanda Miller, co-founder of the Chapel Hill-based wholesale operation Dock to Door Seafood, which supplies several top Triangle restaurants, has a somewhat grander plan. If Santa really wanted to surprise her with a dream gift, she muses, he'd send her to England to take classes at Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's famed River Cottage cookery school.

"I'd love to take the Catch and Cook class this June," Miller says. "However, the River Cottage Fish Book is a much better fit for our family budget, and it's a gift that I would be thrilled to receive."

Joe Philipose, co-founder of Taste Carolina Gourmet Food Tours, travels frequently to research and experience creative food trends. He suggests focusing on a hobby or shared interest.

"Enjoying cocktails out can be an expensive habit, but my girlfriend got me everything I need to stock a home bar," he says, noting a favorite item is a set of silicone molds for making large, spherical ice cubes that are slow to melt. "It's been great fun for us both. After all, if I'm going to make one cocktail, I might as well make two so we can enjoy them together."

For Phoebe Lawless, chef-owner of the acclaimed Scratch bakery in Durham, the answer to what she most likes and dreads to receive is the same: cookbooks. "I love getting the ones I want, but the unsolicited titles always languish on my shelves for years because I feel guilty for getting rid of them," says Lawless, who has been spending a little less time in the kitchen since the arrival of her second child, Warren, last month.

That said, she does have a favorite cookbook to give as a gift: The Fannie Farmer Baking Book. "It's full of solid basic recipes that are a great start for the beginning baker," Lawless says, adding it's a good guide for mastery of basic baking techniques.

Don't try slipping any cookbooks under the tree at the Raleigh home of Debbie Moose. "It's been very hard to convince my family that cookbooks are not appropriate gifts," says Moose, author of Buttermilk (UNC Press), which was featured in a recent holiday cookbook list by The New York Times. "I hate to sound ungrateful, but really, enough. I'd rather have a really good bottle of champagne."

Gift giving at the holidays remains a somewhat foreign concept to Vansana Nolintha, who co-owns the uber-hip Bida Manda restaurant at Raleigh's Moore Square with his younger sister, Vanvisa. "Giving objects as presents is quite uncommon in our tradition," says Nolintha, a Buddhist who grew up in Laos. "Our parents liked to give us experiences in meals."

When he does give gifts, he takes special pleasure in sharing the flavors of his homeland. "I think a lot of people are really timid with spices, but this encourages them to play," says Nolintha, who likes to give lemongrass plants. "For me, food should always be associated with joy."

Lucky 32 stakes claim in high-end, home-style fried chicken

This blog first appeared on Culinary Historians of Piedmont, which is partnering with Lucky 32 for a special dinner at 7 p.m. Wedensday, Feb. 15, at the Cary location. Click here to RSVP.
For a perfect appetizer, try Lucky 32's Sweet Potato Hushpuppies.


Chef Jay Pierce has turned an old joke upside down at Lucky 32 Southern Kitchen.

Why did the customer cross the road?

To get the locally-sourced, deeply-seasoned, irresistibly lard-fried chicken served on the other side.

Crowds are beginning to gather at the Cary location on Wednesday nights, where the three-piece chicken dinner – served with tender collards, mashed potatoes and a hunk of cornbread – is featured for $17. It’s even more popular at the Greensboro location, where it’s sold on Tuesdays.

Pierce knows diners could get fried chicken elsewhere, and probably for less, but he’s confident that his is the best.

“You expect people to come in with some contempt,” he said with a bemused shrug. “When people ask why we charge so much, I tell them, ‘You probably wouldn’t like it.’”

Actually, Pierce is more likely to playfully poke at diners who aren’t yet under the addictive spell of the special. “Sometimes we cook up a big order of wings and I walk around putting just one on the plates of people who didn’t order it,” he said. “I love to see their faces when they try it. I really want them to come back and have it next time.”

Creating the perfect fried chicken became something of an obsession for Pierce when the restaurant gave up its global menu and added Southern Kitchen to its name last year. The owner wanted a dish that would stir fond memories of grandma’s skillet-fried chicken – even if they never had it before.

There are at least two problems with that, Pierce said. First, cooking in skillets is not efficient in a large commercial kitchen. Also, while he admits to the guilty pleasure of Chik-Fil-A sandwiches, fried chicken was not native to Pierce’s experience of growing up in New Orleans.

“I tried so many variations before I worked it out,” he said, ticking off a list of soaks ranging from buttermilk and iced tea to pickle juice. He finally settled on a variation of the late chef Austin Leslie’s recipe featured in “Fried Chicken: An American Story” by John T. Edge. It’s also been published in Food & Wine.

“We put our own spin on it, but it’s a revelation,” said Pierce, stressing that the ingredient he borrows most from the original is the technique. “I can’t imagine chicken getting any better than that.”

Lucky 32’s version starts by generously seasoning chicken from Hopkins Poultry of Browns Summit with salt, pepper and smoked paprika. The dry-rubbed pieces then air-dry in the refrigerator at least eight hours to ensure deeply-flavored meat and crisp skin.

Just before frying, chicken pieces are dunked in a bath of beaten eggs and buttermilk from Homeland Creamery of Greensboro and dredged in a tub of Creole spice-spiked, self-rising flour from Midstate Mills of Newton. Next stop is a Swiss Braisier, a tilt skillet as big as grandma’s old wash tub, filled with 20 pounds of golden lard rendered by Cane Creek Farm of Snow Camp.

“It’s all non-hydrogenated,” Pierce said, gazing at the glistening fat that boiled vigorously as he deftly placed a row of plump breasts. “It’s a lot better for you than Crisco.”

The braisier is key to what makes Lucky 32’s friend chicken special. Instead of floating in a deep fryer, the chicken sizzles on a heavy grill pad that Pierce can tilt to swirl fat where it’s needed, such as a thicker breast portions, while the thighs and wings stay lightly submerged.

“It’s easier than using your grandmother’s skillet,” Pierce said, noting how the vast surface and finely-tuned thermostat keep the oil at a consistent temperature. “I can load at least 10 three-piece dinners in here at once – and I can fit 13 at the one we have in Greensboro.”

Pierce takes the challenge of fixing chicken seriously as he knows so many Southerners consider it the measure of a good cook. “It’s not as easy as it looks. There’s a lot of technique involved with cooking Southern food – good Southern Food, I mean.

“For people who grew up with it, fried chicken is practically a Proustian dish,” he said. “There are so many memories tied to it. That’s why it has to be so good.”

The Perfect Starter: Lucky 32's Sweet Potato Hushpuppies

See related story about Chef Jay Pierce and the fried chicken special at Lucky 32.


Like Jay Pierce’s journey to develop the ultimate fried chicken for Lucky 32, the sweet potato hushpuppies took several detours before landing on the appetizer menu.

“The truth?” Pierce said with a born storyteller’s glint in his eyes. “They started out as pumpkin ravioli.”

Before Lucky 32 expanded its name last year to include Southern Kitchen, it reduced the scope of its former global-cuisine menu. One of Pierce’s first targets with the fated ravioli.

“Actually, it was summer and winter squash in the same dish. Blasphemous!” he said with a shudder.

Pierce knew he wanted to modify the recipe to keep it seasonal, so he tweaked it several ways before he felt he’d found a tasty alternative: Deep-fried pumpkin ravioli in a ham cream sauce.

“Everyone loved it but the owner,” he recalled. “I mean, he liked it, but he said, ‘It’s not Southern.’ He told me, ‘You can do better.’”

Pierce went back to the drawing board and his culinary awakenings in Florida and the Gulf Coast. There, he said, hushpuppies are big and fluffy -- “not the scrawny Civil War rations” found in some North Carolina eateries.

“Some people think they’re not really hushpuppies because they’re bigger and less sweet,” he said. “They taste like what they are: earthy sweet potatoes.”

The dark, crispy globes are served atop a pool of creamy ham sauce scattered with green onion. Light and savory, they are a perfect start for a fried chicken dinner.

Lucky 32 Southern Kitchen’s Sweet Potato Hushpuppies

Disclaimer: All our recipes were originally designed for much larger batch size. This recipe has been reduced – but not tested at this scale. Please adjust as to your taste and portion size. Copyright 1989-2012 This recipe is property of Quaintance-Weaver, Inc. Unauthorized commercial use is forbidden.

2 cups roasted sweet potatoes

1 cup yellow cornmeal

1 1/3 cup yellow corn flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

2 teaspoons allspice

¾ cup green onions, chopped

½ cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon ground mustard

8 eggs

Mix all ingredients in a mixer with paddle attachment until well combined.

Refrigerate till cold.

Drop desired size hushpuppies into a deep fat fryer and cook until done.