JOHN EGERTON ON BISCUITS

Preparations are being made somewhere north of Oxford for the Egerton boys, elder John and his nephew John, to hold forth at a Nov. 1 celebration of ham, beaten biscuits and bourbon at the Southern Food & Beverage Museum in New Orleans. SoFAB, a budding exhibit hall and food research center in the Riverwalk complex near the French Quarter, is a close and collaborative friend of our SFA family, and the senior Egerton (as well as other SFAers) has served on their board.

The Egertons are old Kentucky hands with aged ham and beaten biscuits—two of the most venerable and beloved foods in the repertoire of the Bluegrass State. Bourbon, of course, is better known, but the triple treat has been served together since Senator Henry Clay, the Great Compromiser, tried in vain to prevent the Civil War with ham biscuits and brimming shot glasses of Elijah Craig's distilled spirits back in the 1850s.

This New Orleans gig conflicts with SFA's annual symposium, but the Egertons will pass through Oxford on Saturday, Oct. 31—Halloween afternoon—and do a wet run of their schtick in Oxford from 5 to 6 p.m. Symposiasts are invited to drop by, say hello, and taste a sample. Details available at the symposium.

Contributed by John Egerton

SFA INVITES OXFORD TO CHITLIN BALLET, NOV. 1

SFA invites the public to a morning celebration

of food and music

featuring

Bendiction by writer and humorist Roy Blount, Jr.

Chitlin Ballet performance by Ballet Memphis

Keynote by Nick Spitzer of NPR's American Routes

Sunday, November 1

10:00-11:00 a.m.

Lyric Theater

Oxford, Mississippi

This Sunday morning event, part of SFA's annual Southern Foodways Symposium, is free and open to the public. It is funded, in part, by a grant from the Lafayette Oxford Foundation for Tomorrow, and we thank them.

SFA SYMPOSIUM: FOLLOW ON TWITTER, AND WITH PODCASTS

The SFA Symposium begins on Friday. To download the schedule of events, click here. It's sold out, we're happy to report, but we want to share the experience as much as possible. To that end...

--For all of you who Twitter, use #foodways to record thoughts on the weekend.

--And look out for podcasts, to be posted online after the event so everyone can have access to the program presentations.

2009 TRAVEL + LEISURE GLOBAL VISION AWARD

The Southern Foodways Alliance is humbled and honored to announce we have been chosen as a recipient of a 2009 Travel + Leisure Global Vision Award. "Introduced in 2005, the Awards recognize the outstanding efforts of individuals and organizations that are working to preserve the world's natural and man-made treasures." Fellow honorees this year include the Museum of Islamic Art and the Rainforest Alliance, among others.

We're thrilled to be recognized for fulfilling our mission of documenting, studying, and celebrating the diverse food cultures of the changing American South. We'd love T+L to come on down and enjoy a hot tamale, bbq sandwich, or plate of fried pickles--we know just the place(s).

Look for this SFA shout out in the November issue of Travel + Leisure.

SKILLET BRIGADE ATLANTA REPORT

This past Saturday, Southern Foodways Alliance members gathered at the Peachtree Road Farmer's Market in Atlanta, GA to form a Skillet Brigade! We launched this initiative last year so that SFA members in different cities could flex their collaborative muscles to respond to community needs.

Recently, severe flooding destroyed homes and property all over the Atlanta area. Several local farmers lost some or all of their property and crops for the current season, and the waters have negatively affected the condition of their soil. Two of the farmers affected are SFA members, Judith Winfrey and Joe Reynolds of Love is Love Farm in Douglasville, GA. (They are pictured above, with Nick Pihakis and Brian Lyman of Jim N Nick's.)

In an effort to aid the local farmers who were touched by the destruction, the Peachtree Road Farmer's Market, along with the Cathedral of St. Philip, SFA corporate sponsors Jim 'N Nick's BBQ, and Holeman and Finch/Restaurant Eugene got together with a team of local SFA members to sell BBQ plates, with all of the money going toward the flooded farmer's fund.

Atlanta members, Judy and Don Spruill, Jim Auchmutey, Steven Satterfield, Michael O'Connor, Sawyer Riley, Gena Berry, Ashley Hall, Kate Barney, Angie Mosier and Gina Hopkins gathered to work the event.

All of the food was donated by Jim 'N Nick's BBQ and Holeman and Finch/Restaurant Eugene and fresh lemonade from Via Elisa.

By the end of the day we had raised $6,000 toward the fund.

SFA HOSTS SECOND ANNUAL VIKING RANGE LECTURE

SFA hosted over 150 guests at the second annual Viking Range lecture, featuring Professor Warren Belasco. Soon, SFA will post video of the lecture online. Be on the lookout. Pictured here, L to R: Elise Lake, Ted Ownby, Minjoo Oh, Melissa Hall, Warren Belasco, Jane Crump, LeAnne Gault, John T Edge, Mary Beth Lasseter, and Julie Pickett.

Eat BBQ to support the Peachtree Road Farmer Fund

What feels better than helping a neighbor in need? Doing it on a full stomach! If you will be in the Atlanta area this Saturday, Oct 17, come out and eat Jim 'N Nick's BBQ, and help raise money for the Peachtree Road Farmer Fund. Proceeds will benefit the farmers recovering from the recent floods, including SFA members Judith Winfrey and Joe Reynolds.

HOME OF FRIED TAMALES BURNS TO THE GROUND

The Bourbon Mall in Leland, Mississippi, a favorite stop on the Tamale Trail for fried hot tamales, burned to the ground in the early morning hours of October 7. Surrounded by fields of soybeans and sunflowers, its remote location was not only its charm, but its downfall. The cause of the fire is not yet known. We don't know what the future might hold for this Delta icon, either, but we're certainly glad we captured its history. Read our 2005 oral history interview with owner Mark Azlin right here.

Coincidentally, John Currence, chef-owner of City Grocery Restaurant in Oxford, and SFA filmmaker Joe York, made a short film about their recent trek to the Bourbon Mall for Garden & Gun magazine. You can view the film on the magazine's website.

RECRUITING AN SFA SKILLET BRIGADE: PROJECT GEORGIA

A number of our SFA friends and family were affected by the the recent flooding in and around Atlanta. SFA member Judith Winfrey, of Love is Love Farm in Douglasville, Georgia, writes:

Storms like these are a good reminder that we always need to support our local, family farmers. Buy directly from farmers at farmer's markets as often as you can. It's a risky job, sometimes, and farmers need you behind them.

Ours is not the only Atlanta farm feeling the impact of this "weather event." We know that the Bray Family Farm, Cane Creek Farm, Fairywood Thicket, Hope's Garden, and Split Cedar Farm suffered losses and damage as well, and suspect that there are others. Please reach out to those farmers if you know them and offer what you can.

Now is the time for Skillet Brigade action. SFA-ers can help with relief in one of several ways. For those in or near the Atlanta area, SFA board president Angie Mosier will be in touch about work opportunities. There are also fundraising relief efforts that you may support:

October 5-11 - Rosebud is hosting a week-long dine out to raise money for the Georgia Flooded Farms Relief Fund. Dine at Rosebud anytime between Monday, October 5 - Sunday, October 11 and a percentage of the proceeds will be donated to this important fund.

October 11 - Woodfire Grill is having a 4 course dinner with wine pairings to benefit Love is Love Farm and the Georgia Flooded Farms Relief Fund.

October 13 - Pig Pickin' at the Farmer's Atlanta Road Market to benefit farmers affected by the flood. They'll be cooking Berkshire shoulders donated by Gum Creek Farms in a La Caja China cooking box. 100% of all donations in exchange for food will be given to farms as they recover from a total loss of crops and livestock from the flood.

October 17 - The Peachtree Road Farmers Market is selling Jim N' Nick's BBQ plates from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. All proceeds will benefit the Peachtree Road Farmers Fund.

More events are added daily, so check back with Slow Food Atlanta often.

We know that not all of you can hop in your car and drive to Atlanta easily. For those outside of the Atlanta area who wish to help, Slow Food Atlanta has set up a fund to help Georgia's flooded sustainable farmers. All contributions to this fund will be tax deductible. For more information, visit www.slowfoodatlanta.org. Or click here to donate now.

The SFA thanks you, in advance, for your support of relief efforts.

SFA SYMPOSIUM SOLD OUT; PRELUDE DINNER SPACES STILL AVAILABLE

The SFA is pleased to announce that the annual symposium is sold out. For those who are attending, a schedule of events is now posted online here. And, for those who are unable to celebrate with us, be on the lookout for podcasts of the event in mid-November.

SFA Prelude Dinners have just been announced, and registration is open for those who'd like to dine in Oxford on Thursday night. For menus and information on tickets, click here. Tickets are $45 per person, plus tip.

FOOD & MUSIC IN ATHENS, GA

DEXTER WEAVER - WEAVER D'S from Southern Foodways on Vimeo.

Another interview from the SFA oral history archives that celebrates the intersection of music and food. Dexter Weaver of Weaver D's in Athens, GA, has a way with sweet potatoes. He also has a way with words. His trademark saying, “Automatic for the People,” pushed him into the limelight when the Athens-based band R.E.M. used the phrase as the title for their 1992 album.

Read our interview with Dexter Weaver in its entirety right here.

Learn more about this year's symposium, the theme of which is Music & Food, here.