Resources on Southern Cuisine for Culinary Students: A Reference Proposal. By Helen Harris. LI813, Emporia State University.

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1 Resources on Southern Cuisine for Culinary Students: A Reference Proposal By Helen Harris LI813, Emporia State University April 16, 2011

2 Harris 2 This proposal includes reference resources that would be used to enhance the collection of a culinary school library. The list of resources provides students with information on cooking methods, recipes, traditional ingredients, and a general history of Southern food in America. It would also provide a good starting point from which to find more specific resources, depending on the students focus or topic of study. In a culinary school setting, where programs are usually 2 years or less, students are responsible for a great degree of independent learning and self-education. Also, many culinary schools require students to complete a culminating project, often focused on a particular style or type of regional cuisine. They are also responsible for assignments and coursework dealing with specific methods and types of cooking. This collection would provide possible resources for a culminating project or assignment focusing on Southern food or for a student with a particular interest in self-education on this topic. Edge, J. T. (Ed.). (2007). The new encyclopedia of Southern culture, Volume 7: Foodways. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. As perhaps the only encyclopedia in existence devoted solely to the food culture of the American South, Foodways would be an excellent addition to a collection focusing on Southern cuisine. Culinary students could use this resource to explore the types of food Southerners eat and how they are prepared. It contains 149 articles, many with photographs, ranging from broader topics like the historical development of the cuisine, gender roles, and ethnic contributions to topical essays about specific foods, personalities, and restaurants. It also delves into the food cultures of the cities and sub-regions of the

3 Harris 3 American South. Foodways has bibliographies that are listed at the end of each article, a table of contents, and an index. There is also an index of authors who contributed to the encyclopedia. The editor, John T. Edge, is the director of the Southern Foodways Alliance and author of several books including Southern Belly and Fried Chicken: An American Story. Western Folklore (Spring/Summer, 2009) called Foodways "a delightful and informative read, so much so that it can be read straight through as a highly readable introduction to Southern foodways. It of course serves equally well as a reference work." And according to ARBAonline (2008), Foodways will generate discussion on the history and traditions of Southern food. The cost of this resource is around forty dollars. Egerton, J. (Ed.). (2002). Cornbread nation 1: The best of Southern food writing. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. Many seasoned chefs credit food writing as a chief inspiration for creating and learning in the kitchen in their early years, and this anthology collects the best essays on Southern food that have been previously published in magazines, newspapers, and other publications. Culinary students could use this resource as a broad sampling of Southern food writing and glean information from essays ranging from the scholarly to the anecdotal and humorous. Part of a planned yearly anthology, Cornbread Nation was put out in conjunction with the Southern Food Alliance and contains fifty-one articles on the people, places, and traditions of Southern food culture. The anthology contains photographs throughout, has a table of contents, and an index of contributors. The editor, John Egerton, is a journalist and author who wrote Southern Food: On the Road, At Home, In History. Booklist (2002) credited the more scholarly essays with documenting

4 Harris 4 the fascinating minutiae, such as distinctions amongst various greens in different parts of the South and urged those with regional collections to add each volume of the series. Library Journal (2003) pointed out an unevenness in the quality of the essays but still credited it as a worthwhile resource and recommended it for regional cookery and Southern studies collections. The cost of the resource is seventeen dollars. Lewis, E. & Peacock, S. (2003). The gift of Southern cooking: Recipes and revelations from two great American cooks. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. This resource is a cookbook that includes recipes for traditional Southern basics and methods as diverse as canning, preserving, baking, and making food for special occasions. It includes recipes, detailed descriptions of methods used, anecdotes, and information about the ingredients, origin, history, and traditions of preparing Southern food. Culinary students could use this cookbook as a resource for finding recipes and learning the methods for mastering the creation of authentic Southern food. The Gift of Southern Cooking is 351 pages long and includes a table of contents organized by course, twenty-one menus, a list of mail-order sources, and an index. The authors, Edna Lewis and Scott Peacock, are from Virginia and Alabama, respectively. Edna Lewis is an award-winning chef who is considered the Grande dame of Southern cooking. She is the author of the Taste of Country Cooking, widely accepted as a classic, and The Edna Lewis Cookbook. Scott Peacock is a highly regarded chef and restaurant owner. Between the two, they have a broad range of experience with the various regional cuisines of the South. Publisher s Weekly (2003) credited the authors unbeatable credentials and

5 Harris 5 thanks this unlikely pair for bringing Southern comfort back to everyone s table. The cost of this cookbook is about twenty dollars. Long, L. (2009). Regional American food culture. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood Press. This book is part of the Food Culture in America series and is a reference tool that discusses the history, cooking styles and methods, foods and ingredients, typical meals, meals for special occasions, and diet and health issues in each region. It also discusses the natural resources, population, social, and economic trends that affect regional American food culture. This book could be used as a general reference on American cuisine and could be used to compare and contrast Southern food with other regions in the United States. The section on the southern United States would help a student find more specific information on Southern food culture and could provide a good starting point for locating additional resources. Regional American Food Culture has a table of contents, chronology from 1591 to the present, a glossary, a list of print and online resources, a selected bibliography, and an index. The author is an instructor in American Culture Studies at Bowling Green State University and has a Ph.D. in Folklore. ARBAonline (2010) called it one of the best and most exhaustively researched and invitingly written sources. Walter, E. (1971). American cooking: Southern style. New York: Time-Life Books. This resource is part of the Foods of the World Series, a series of 27 cookbooks published in the late 1960s and early 70s. Their aim was to enlist well-known experts of regional cuisines to combine recipes and travelogues, resulting in a collection of references on

6 Harris 6 many of the world s major cuisines. American Cooking: Southern Style was a best-selling cookbook upon publication and paired recipes with good writing to show the cultural context from which the recipes came. Culinary students could use this resource as a way to connect recipes with Southern culture and to compare and contrast this earlier resource with the more modern resources listed above. This resource would provide a historical context and show a different perspective on Southern food, since it was published in the 1970s. This volume was released in hardback with an accompanying spiral-bound booklet containing extra recipes. The main volume is 208 pages long and contains photographs, a table of contents, and an index. The author, Eugene Walter, was from Mobile, Alabama, and wrote a prizewinning novel, an autobiography, and was a frequent contributor to the Paris Review. Reflection on the Assignment This assignment (while making me very hungry!) taught me a lot about how to identify and evaluate reference resources. I really had to think about whether a resource would be used in a way that would categorize it as a reference resource, and, no matter how much I wanted to include it, I had to think objectively about how it would fit into a specific collection for a specific library. Possibly the hardest part of the assignment was to attempt to make the collection of five resources comprehensive. I m not sure if I succeeded in this aspect, even though I felt I narrowed the topic down enough. This assignment was good practice for learning how to look up reviews, determine the value and uses of a resource, and evaluate how well the resource covers the topic and serves the patron. I think that the assignment was successful in making me think about all the aspects of how a resource comes to be included in a library s collection and to see the

7 Harris 7 criteria and rationale behind the process of choosing reference materials. Even though I had to leave out some of my favorites, I think I succeeded in creating the best collection for a student at a culinary school and presented a diversified offering of references on Southern Cuisine in America. Now, if you ll excuse me, I have to go whip up some collard greens, corn bread and sweet tea!