June 2024
Diving into the deep end of seafood and Southern Fork experiences
Over the past week in two locations, the Southern Fork experiences have launched. We held a Southern Fork Summer Solstice Supper in Charleston, SC, and a Pizza Party Test Kitchen in Port Royal, SC. Although I could wax poetic (you know I could), there’s really just one major thing to say.
You just had to be there. ;)
That’s the point of experience, right? The culinary world is full-on, turn it on high, immersive sights, sounds, touch, and of course taste, and it was an amazing thing to watch come to life, if just for an evening.
My life as a writer, a podcaster, a traveler, a thinker, is often a solitary one by its very nature. But I also am someone who entered in to this world through the restaurant door, and I spent much of my 20s and 30s cutting limes, polishing silverware, hearing chefs yell for food runners, and spending long days in the kitchen too, opening industrial-sized cans, wearing a kerchief, and sweeping under the prep tables. And I was always surrounded by other people doing the same.
I think one of the big stories of our time is that, despite our internet connectedness, we miss each other. And so, in the midst of all the chaos of these last few weeks, of crowded tables and glass rentals and coordination of people and place, I have to say, it was good to be together. And to pause for a moment and see these faces smiling back at me. Let’s do it again. And soon. And I’ll see you at the next one, right?
Good food is the foundation of happiness. — Jacques Pepin
Episodes and other Updates
Seafood in the South is one of my favorite subjects, and this month, I covered two fish-focused operations. Wes Eason of Sunburst Trout Farms in Waynesville, NC, farm raises trout that shows up on some of the best tables in the region. And Shaun Brian Sells of Cudaco supplies restaurants and customers from his retail location on James Island. Both share stories of inspiration from their families.
Speaking of inspiration, Adrian Lipscombe of the 40 Acres Project has inspiring vision and enthusiasm for being the change she wants to see in the world. We talked community, building structures to keep black farmers on their land, and how this pastry chef has now found herself on the barbecue circuit.
Juan Cassalett of Malagon in Charleston is a chef’s chef, so I got behind the line with him — virtually at least — to talk what makes a good cook hire and how he tests their skills with the restaurant’s iconic Tortilla Espanola. I bet that if you have a cast iron skillet at home, you’ll want to try your hand at it after listening.
If you are a YouTube fan, did you know you can listen to the podcast there? As well as check out shorts and clips?
And if you’re headed to Charleston — and there’s a decent chance since 7 million of you visit a year — then check out these hotels I recommend in my latest byline for Saveur. “Look for uniqueness in a sea of same.”
Will you leave a review on the podcast if you listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts? EACH and every review fluffs up the algorithm and helps new people discover the show. Thank you!
Other published media I like right now: Butterfly in the Sky, the Reading Rainbow documentary, provided me a behind the scenes look at a program that sincerely shaped who I am today (I hardly ever missed it). I was mesmerized by the grit they had to make it happen, and I of course got a little misty-eyed too.
On my mind: always a million things, especially at 3 a.m. … this month, the power of soundscapes. As someone who is highly attuned to sound, I sincerely hate leaf blowers! They are a sound of our times, though, and that got me to thinking that it’s not only cityscapes and landscapes that change with time, but also soundscapes.
This article delves into the sounds of the medieval world, and I liked the immersive nature of imagining other time periods through sound. However, it is also true in the microcosm of our own personal lives. From the fall months in Columbia, SC with owls calling after dusk above me to the sound of the screen door in my childhood home, sound is a powerful connector to memory too.
I’m grateful to have run across some of my late dog Petunia’s “sniffing mic sound checks” I’d have her do when checking levels. It was a sound of my life, and kind of my own personal podcast production silliness, and I’m grateful to still have it tucked away.
Cooking soundtrack album: The Winding Way, Teskey Brothers
Best thing I cooked this month: Black beans using Rancho Gordo dried beans and the Basic Pot of Beans recipe from Sandra Gutierrez’ Latinismo. These are the easiest and the absolute best black beans I’ve ever made. I’ve made them three times already, so you get the drift.
Until next time,
Steph