The Lost Southern Chefs: A History of Commercial Dining in the Nineteenth-Century South

· Tantor Media Inc · Narrated by Chris Abernathy
Audiobook
9 hr 49 min
Unabridged
Eligible
Ratings and reviews aren’t verified  Learn More
Want a 58 min sample? Listen anytime, even offline. 
Add

About this audiobook

In recent years, food writers and historians have begun to retell the story of southern food. Heirloom ingredients and traditional recipes have been rediscovered, the foundational role that African Americans played in the evolution of southern cuisine is coming to be recognized, and writers are finally clearing away the cobwebs of romantic myth that have long distorted the picture. The story of southern dining, however, remains incomplete. The Lost Southern Chefs begins to fill that niche by charting the evolution of commercial dining in the nineteenth-century South. Robert F. Moss punctures long-accepted notions that dining outside the home was universally poor, arguing that what we would today call "fine dining" flourished throughout the region as its towns and cities grew. Most important, Moss tells the forgotten stories of the people who drove this culinary revolution. These men and women fully embodied the title "chef," directing large staffs, staging elaborate events for hundreds of guests, and establishing supply chains for the very best ingredients from across the expanding nation. These chefs and entrepreneurs became embroiled in the pitched political battles of Reconstruction and Jim Crow, and then their names were all but erased from history.

About the author

Robert Moss is a writer and independent scholar. He is the author of Southern Spirits: Four Hundred Years of Drinking in the American South and Barbecue: The History of an American Institution. He is currently the contributing barbecue editor for Southern Living and the southern food correspondent for Serious Eats.

Chris Abernathy is a lifelong professional storyteller who found his calling telling scary stories to campers around a roaring fire at Camp Sumatanga in Alabama. In 2015 he began narrating audiobooks and now works full-time from his home studio.

Rate this audiobook

Tell us what you think.

Listening information

Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can read books purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.