Welcome to the SFA

Welcome to the Southern Foodways Alliance -- an institute of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture with headquarters at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi.

The Southern Foodways Alliance documents and celebrates the diverse food cultures of the American South. We set a common table where black and white, rich and poor -- all who gather-- may consider our history and our future in a spirit of reconciliation.

The Encyclopedia of Cajun and Creole Cuisine

By Chef John D. Folse.
Chef John D. Folse and Company Publishing, 2004.
$49.95

The Encyclopedia of Cajun and Creole Cuisine is a hefty book, both in weight (about ten pounds) and thoroughness in treating its subject. It is the self-described “birthright and obligation” of Chef John Folse, the man designated by the state legislature as “Louisiana’s Culinary Ambassador to the World.”

The 850-page cookbook, history text, photo album, and reference source is divided into three sections. The first devotes a chapter to each of the seven cultures that Folse identifies as having significantly contributed to the creation of the Cajun and Creole cuisines (Native America, France, Spain, Germany, England, Africa, and Italy). This section can be textbookish in spots, but the relevance of the historical information does ultimately come through. The second section is the sweet spot: the recipes (more than 700 of them). Folse’s classic recipes are well written, often anecdotal, and cover everything from basic sauces to pig roasts to classic cocktails (often considered basic sauces in Louisiana).

The recipes are divided into standard categories, but Folse is true to his mission, as when he devotes several pages to the creation and evolution of brunch.

The final chapters reveal Folse fulfilling his duties as Culinary Ambassador with tributes to the festivals, plantations, personalities, and local brands that exemplify, celebrate, and preserve the essence of Cajun and Creole cuisine.

It is impossible to describe this book without remarking on the striking photography. The best shot of all is the cover, a reproduction of a 1933 photo called “The Oysterman,” with Folse perched, barefoot, atop a mound of spent oyster shells, looking like he may have eaten more than he’s added to the oyster can.

Snapshots and portraits of historical figures add personality to the historical material in the first section, and vibrant close-up shots of Ponchatoula strawberries and plump eggplants interspersed with the recipes will inspire even the most timid cooks.

-Angie White

The Ruth Fertel Keeper of the Flame Award

Each fall, the SFA (with support from the Fertel Foundation) honors an unsung hero or heroine, a foodways tradition bearer of note, with the Ruth Fertel Keeper of the Flame Award.

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Help the Southern Foodways Alliance celebrate, preserve, promote, and nurture the traditional and developing food culture of the American South.

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