Articles
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As Sweet as Tupelo Honey
By Jan Butsch Schroder As a child of the city, when I was growing up the closest I got to seeing where my food came from originally was when we visited Mathis Dairy and saw Rosebud the Cow. Our brownie troops' visit was documented in a photo in a local newspaper with the headline, "City Girls See Cow." Then there was the time I planted lollipop sticks in a mound of dirt waiting for the luscious treats to spring out of the ground. I'm still waiting. But recently I had the pleasure of going on a culinary tour of the panhandle of Florida, in a trip called "Foraging The Forgotten Coast," where I learned so much more about where food really comes from. For me the word forage conjures up unflattering images of myself rooting around in the refrigerator for the leftover chicken enchiladas. But after going on this four-day tour, those images have been replaced by more picturesque ones - crabbing in streams, tonging for oysters and watching Tupelo honey dripping from a hive. Chris Hastings, the culinary advisor of the St. Joe Company and the chef/owner of the acclaimed Hot & Hot Fish Club of Birmingham, Alabama, was our enthusiastic and knowledgeable guide through the adventure, which took us from the white sands of Santa Rosa Beach to the famed oyster beds of Apalachicola Bay and the charming town of Apalachicola. Here are a few of the sights and people we met along the way. If you're ready for an unforgettable culinary trip of your own, these are the dates for his next tours: Oct 18-21, 2007 For information, visit www.joe.com/web/TownsAndHomes/WaterColor/Foraging.htm |
