Chef and historian Mike Hebb guided almost a hundred folks through the evolution of food in Charleston’s history in our November 19 program “CHARLESTON COOKERY – FROM SUSTENANCE TO DECADENCE”.
In a presentation layered with facts and humor, Hebb walked us through how Charleston’s (and Carolina’s) cooking mirrors local history. We think of Charleston in terms of the English arriving here in 1670…but the Spanish were actually the first European settlers 50 years earlier. Santa Elena (Now Port Royal) was, for a while, the capital of La Florida.
European settlers brought their food tastes with them. The Spanish imported hogs. The native people had a slow, smoke driven cooking technique. Some say that was the origin of barbecue!
As the English moved down from Virginia and pushed the Spanish southward, the local menu changed accordingly. And then there was a large influx of French Protestants (the Huegenots) and the focus of local diet and cooking took a French turn.
Carolina under the Lords Proprietors had one basic motivation….make as much money as possible. Raising beef cattle for export to Barbados was a big focus. And the introduction of Carolina Gold rice had a huge impact on both local diet and the local economy. Rice made Charles Town the richest city in the English colonies.
A major fire caused by a cooking accident 1n 1740 led to a law requiring that cooking be done in a building separate from the main house! And seminal local figure Elizabeth Lucas Pinkney, better known for her role in developing the indigo trade, was writing recipes (then called receipts) as early as 1752.
With the new wealth (at least for the propertied white residents) local menus and eating habits continued to evolve with the growth of taverns.
There was a second wave of French immigration from 1789-to 1846 leading to half of local chefs being French. Most of the other half were Black….some freedmen, others still slaves. The most famous chef in Charleston at the time was a Black man, Nat Fuller who owned several restaurants including one called Bachelor’s Retreat.
Most food was sold at the City Market…essentially the same location as today. It was built in 1807 after filling in what was known as Daniell’s Creek. Yep, named after Robert Daniell of Daniel Island fame.
Hebb shares fascinating local history and historically appropriate food complete with Madeira at his commercial operation, The Historic Charleston Supper Club. Essentially it’s a multi-course meal focusing on the French based antebellum period. He stressed that the servings are so large every one takes leftovers home! The emphasis for what’s left of November will be on legacy Charleston families with December focusing on Historic Christmas feasts.
He also announced he’ll be shutting down briefly at the end of the year but plans to be up and running a revamped operation by February 2025. For more info on Charleston Supper Club, CLICK HERE
Below is a look at the slides that accompanied Hebb’s presentation….
It was appropriate we shared a few samples of historic food. Here’s the recipe for one of the treats…..https://bit.ly/412tROi
The Christmas cookies were baked by three DIHS Board members…Beth Bush, Lee Ann Bain and Valarie Miller. Thank you!
We’re still working to add two videos to this post….Beth Bush’ introduction to the evening and Mike Hebb’s presentation. Stay tuned!