F ood connects all human beings. Every region has its tribal traditions, every culture a certain food heritage, every family its own roots and recipes.

But, mostly, food is just plain fun to eat.

A group of Georgia College history students recently expanded their knowledge of food the fork-to-mouth way on a Foodways study away trip to Savannah during Spring Break. They chronicled the diversity of food rituals in this Southern port city while eating at Lowcountry, Greek, Indian, Italian, Latin and Asian restaurants.

“It relates to history because it’s a different perspective of history. It not only shows the major impact food had on the South but also the world,” said senior history major Elijah Lopez of New York City, New York.

“We’re not just eating food and getting an ‘A,’” he said. “We have to understand the history and significance behind food. Food ties in so deeply with people’s lives and cultures and, being from New York, it has been an eye-opening experience to learn about the way of life down South.”

Fourteen students went on the five-day trip as part of the “Experiencing the Ethnic South Through Food” class co-taught by history professors Dr. Craig Pascoe and Dr. James “Trae” Welborn. The unique course goes beyond what most people see as Southern vittles, like biscuits and gravy, and introduces students to another side of Southern food—an inherently multicultural palate shaped by the relocation of diverse ethnic groups who made cities like Savannah their home.

Enslaved Africans brought with them knowledge of growing rice crops. Certain dishes are distinctly connected to the Gullah Geechee culture found on Sapelo Island in Georgia and sea islands of the Carolinas. Enslaved Africans also brought cooking traditions that helped them survive in desperate conditions, like cooking “one-pot meals” over a “three rock fire.”

Details like these captivate students as much as the foods they get to eat in this course.

A number of Irish immigrated to Savannah during the potato famine in the 1840s and ’50s. Later that century, Chinese immigrants began to settle in the city. Many Asian foods merged with Southern cooking for dishes we see today across the Southeast. Few know the Chinese were the first in the Mississippi Delta to sell tamales, normally known as a Mexican fare. Tamales were an easy food to fix and sell, Pascoe said.

Prior to Spring Break, students learned how to make tamales from Letty Short at El Tequila in Milledgeville. They toured Comfort Farms in Milledgeville to learn about African plants like okra, a mainstay in many Southern recipes.

Later this semester, they’ll eat at the Thai restaurant LaDDa Bistro and a Creole restaurant in Macon. They’ll also go on a “food crawl” along Buford Highway to visit the Buford Highway Farmer’s Market and sample foods at ethnic restaurants there. They’ll eat traditional street food by Muslim-Chinese Uighurs, as well as Vietnamese, Salvadorian and Ethiopian foods. Students are encouraged to try the unfamiliar, like octopus, stuffed intestines and goat genitals.

In the classroom, students learn the history and culture of various minority groups residing in the South. They tried various Southern ethnic dishes like biscuits and country ham, Asian shrimp salad, black-eyed peas and cornbread.
 
“The South is not simply a black and white kind of society. It’s always had a lot of different ethnic and racial groups,” Welborn said. “As a port town, Savannah’s going to have the greatest concentration of different ethnic groups than anywhere else. You'll also see ethnic groups throughout the South in smaller towns like Statesboro or Jackson, Mississippi, where you might have a Jewish family running a deli or a Greek family running a restaurant.”

The Spring Break trip was the highlight of the course, bringing all these concepts together.

Students heard presentations from restaurant owners, who talked about how they ended up in Savannah and why they serve certain foods.

The group ate at The Flying Monk with its fresh-cut Asian noodle dishes; FraLi Italian with its old-World recipes handed down from generation-to-generation; Yia Yia’s Greek Kitchen with its gyros and pastries; NaaN on Broughton with its warm Indian flavors; Latin Chicks with its Caribbean and South American cuisine; and The Grey, an old bus terminal where new-South delicacies are found.

But it wasn’t all fun and eating.

Beforehand, Students analyzed historical patterns of food production, consumption and associated cultural meanings among Southern ethnic groups. They took field notes during meals in Savannah, answered questions and will be tested on the historical significance of it all. They’ll research ethnic recipes and prepare a potluck dinner with a presentation at the end of the semester.

The class trip helped junior history major Sydney Satori of Cumming expand her palate. She calls herself a “picky eater” and generally doesn’t like meat. But the chicken dish, “Saltada de Pollo,” at Latin Chicks was “the best chicken” she ever had.

“I learned I’m not as picky of an eater as I thought,” Satori said. “I enjoyed many foods on this trip that I never would’ve tried otherwise. This class has made me think about how food is a part of history. It’s been a good reminder of how many cultures there are in America and the South.”

Senior psychology major Lucas Baird of Woodstock said his favorite restaurant was Yia Yia’s. He enjoyed the owner’s tale about the Greek restaurant’s role in the community. He also savored the “amazing Louisiana-style food” at Huey’s and liked the Indian food at NaaN on Broughton.

Baird was most surprised “by just the sheer amount of variety within Savannah and how diversity seems to be a prevalent theme.” Food is a major factor in the city’s identity, intermixed with its rich history of change and struggle during immigrations, he said.

“I think what stood out the most on this trip was the variety and rich culture that could be experienced within one town,” Baird said. “We not only got to try foreign foods, but also hear the owner’s or chef’s story and of their experience and cultural journey.”

“My eyes have been opened to just how varied the South has become,” he added, “and how a lot of foods have been co-opted by Southerners to create their own unique hybrid.”