Southern Food and Beverage Museum

One of my Causes (yes, it gets a capital C) is the idea of Southern food culture. I haven't been to the Southern Food and Beverage Museum in New Orleans. Here's a missive from the director on how it's going down there since the museum's grand opening.


Dear Friends
We would like to thank everyone who has made the opening of this museum a success! We have been extremely busy since we officially opened our doors. One of the great joys of working on a project like this is that the busy activity is more like a good aperitif than something that leaves us fatigued. It only stimulates our appetites for the next great thing. We hope that you feel the same way.

On that note, there is a lot that we are excited about in the month of July. We have been, and continue to be, hosting a Culinary Camp for Kids, thanks to the generous sponsorship of the Emeril Lagasse Foundation. While making mayonnaise in camp, the children were surprised that one could make it out of something as simple, and real, as oil and eggs. And, they could not stop talking about how much better homemade root beer is than the store-bought variety. While we are constantly reminded that children have an increasingly small connection with the origins of their food, it is comforting to hear comments like these.

Along with the French Consulate, we hosted a dinner at the Ritz Carlton featuring Jacques Puisais of the Institut du Gout (translation: Institute for Taste) in Paris, France. Liz Williams, president of the SoFab, will have the opportunity to spend two weeks at the institute, which is "invested fully in taste education." We look forward to reading some her blogs during her visit.

The museum itself will continue to evolve during the month of July. We have just added a coffee and tea exhibit, thanks to Luzianne. You can sample chicory coffee and pure coffee, and vote for your favorite. You can also vote online. While chicory tea is mostly in New Orleans, what may be a bigger debate is the one surrounding iced tea that goes on throughout the South. Which way do you take yours, sweetened or unsweetened? Our oral history section of the museum will also open this month. And, the Museum of the American Cocktail will open its doors on July 21, at the conclusion of Tales of the Cocktail.

Around mid-August, look for our culinary book review in SoFab Eats!, a new online publication we are creating. It will include reviews of new food-related books, as well as old ones. It has been great fun cooking casseroles from a community cookbook from 1976. Some are delicious and some are, well, strange. Chinese Pie, anyone?

We look forward to seeing you at the Museum!! Cheers, Stephanie Carter Editorial Director email me at: Stephanie@southernfood.org