Big Green Egghead

Today I stumbled across a link to fascinating histories of a rural Tennessee BBQ joints, and soon discovered it was just a small part of an oral history initiative by the Southern Foodways Alliance (SFA). The SFA is an institute affiliated with the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi.

From the site:

The mission of the SFA is to celebrate, preserve, promote, and nurture the traditional and developing diverse food cultures of the American South.

I spent a good deal of time enjoying the fruits of the SFA’s oral history initiative, particularly “The Southern BBQ Trail”, which consists of interviews with proprietors of many classic barbecue establishments. Many interviews are available in written or audio format, and also include photos.

I also found the method of the initiative to be very interesting. The site provides basic tools and instructions for users to record oral histories on their own and to submit them to the Alliance in the form of audio recordings, transcripts and photos.

What an interesting collection of stories; I’m sure anyone interested in the roots of barbecue and other Southern food cultures will find these oral histories of interest.