"I really want each dish to either tell a story about a lesson I learned or about a person I met or something I grew up with or a new discovery."
― Husk chef Sean Brock during a cookbook discussion with
Momofuku chef David Chang, NYC 2014, from Eater.com.
Nothing quite says southern heritage like food. In fact, it sometimes falls on the side of religion. You don't mess with grandmama's recipes or daddy's low country boil. There are dishes you don't cook for the church potluck, because that is Sister So-and-So's specialty.
Charleston, SC, chef Sean Brock admits to being obsessive when it comes to southern food. His restaurant Husk is a dive into southern tradition and his drive to use local, heirloom ingredients is a passion indeed. Husk's menu revolves around what's fresh and what's available. And, yes, it is absolutely worth the drive. The pork chops will ruin you (I've tried to recreate them at home and cannot). The pig ears were surprisingly delicious. And, well, I haven't had biscuits like that since my grandmama passed.
Brock shares his passion for perfection in the southern kitchen in his cookbook Heritage. The pictures are glorious and the recipes perfected. We plan to cook our way through the book and the south's food past along the way.
The recipes and techniques featured in the book are uniquely low country in flavor. They borrow heavily from the Gullah culture, which inspires most cooking in this area, even at home. Though this food is now looked upon as something special, it is actually all about using what you can. It was how my grandparents cooked (out the garden) and it is how we teach our children to cook.
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