The Southern Fork
by Stephanie Burt
Host Stephanie Burt travels the Southern United States (with a fork!) and chats with some of the most interesting voices in the culinary South. From chefs to farmers, bakers to brewers, and pitmasters to fishermen, they all have a story. Listen and learn more behind some of your favorite foods.
Episodes
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Exploring The Southern Bar: What Makes a Bar, Well ... a Bar?
In this episode, we embark on a delightful exploration of the different types of bars that populate the Southern landscape. Will Green, co-owner of The Hoot and Wico in West Columbia, joins us to define what constitutes a bar and share insights about their cultural significance. My newest book is...
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A New Orleans Legacy in Hot Sauce: Pepper Baumer of Baumer Brands and Crystal Hot Sauce (New Orleans, LA)
Hot sauce is Southern. Hot sauce is personal, and for many of us, hot sauce love began with Crystal Hot Sauce on a cold, briny oyster. In this episode, Crystal's CEO Pepper Baumer, a third-generation member of the renowned Brennan and Baumer culinary families, shares insights into the rich food...
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From Growing Up in a Chinese Restaurant to Opening One of Your Own: Herman Ng on Crafting a Unique Culinary Experience at XO Brasserie (Charleston, SC)
Herman Ng's journey through the restaurant industry is as rich and layered as the flavors he brings to his restaurant, XO Brasserie, which opened in 2024 in Charleston, SC. Growing up in a family that ran a Chinese restaurant in Columbia, SC, he has a unique perspective on food, culture, and the...
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From Puerto Rican Roots to Renowned Pitmaster: Hector Garate's Palmira Barbecue Journeyfrom Pop-ups to a Growing BBQ Empire (Charleston, SC)
Pitmaster Hector Garate has become a rocketship in the barbecue world since opening Palmira Barbecue in Charleston, SC. Palmira has been named "Best New Barbecue Joint in the South" by Southern Living, earned the top spot on Texas Monthly's "Best Texas-Style BBQ Joints in the USA" list, and saw…
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The Southern Fork comes to life on Substack
The Southern Fork is now available on Substack. What does that mean? Well, it means right in your inbox, you can get a current, up to date resource that documents and celebrates the culinary life of the American South each week. It's kind of like the podcast coming to life on the page. There's...
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From the Culinary Institute of America to Cocktails: James Bolt's Gin Joint Journey (Charleston, SC)
In this, the final episode of Season 10, James Bolt of The Gin Joint in Charleston, SC shares his journey from chemistry to craft cocktails, emphasizing the importance of culinary-driven mixology, the art of ice making, and innovative trends like mini cocktails. Discover how Charleston's vibrant...
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How Munkle Brewing Balances Tradition and Innovation with Local Ingredients (Charleston, SC)
In the last 15 years, the craft brewery scene has really come into its own in Charleston, and these days you can find area breweries all over the Lowcountry, tucked into warehouses, alongside beautiful river views, and even in business parks. Munkle Brewing Co., located in the Neck area of...
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Bintou N'Daw Follows Her Own Creative Compass at Bintü Atelier (Charleston, SC)
Bintou N'Daw is a magnetic person who makes food that just draws you in with its layers of flavor and storytelling. She owns and operates Bintü Atelier, an African-inspired restaurant, with her husband in Charleston, SC, and she has just been named a James Beard Semifinalist for Best Chef:...
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GroceryRx: A New Approach to Nutrition and Health in the South Carolina Lowcountry (Charleston, SC)
In this conversation, dietician Olivia Myers shares her passion for Grocery RX, part of Lowcountry Street Grocery in Charleston, SC, which operates as food pharmacy and nutrition education arm. She shares her background in nutrition and food, the challenges of addressing food insecurity, and the...
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Diving below the surface of Blue Food with Andrew Zimmern
Andrew Zimmern has spent decades proving that food can be a powerful force for cultural understanding and social change. An Emmy-winning and James Beard Award-winning television host, chef and food advocate, he brings boundless curiosity and deep empathy to his exploration of global cuisine on…
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The Southern Fork's BEST of 2025
In this episode, host Stephanie Burt reflects on her experiences from 2025, sharing highlights from her culinary adventures, restaurant visits, and travel experiences. She emphasizes the importance of personal connections to food and hospitality, recounting memorable dishes and places. The…
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Crafting a Legendary Oyster: Trey McMillan of Lowcountry Oyster Company (Green Pond, SC)
In this conversation, Trey McMillan of Lowcountry Oyster Company shares insights into the world of oyster farming, discussing the significance of location, the transition from fishing to oyster cultivation, and the crafting of the Lowcountry Cup oyster. He emphasizes the challenges and learning...
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Opening Charleston's Restaurant Jewel Box: Merci (Charleston, SC)
What makes a restaurant make one of Stephanie's best of lists? Well, it is always an equation of passion and details that come together behind the scenes and feel effortless during service. Merci, located in Charleston, SC, ended up being one of her most exciting restaurant visits of 2025, so in...
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The Heart of a Fried Seafood Tourist Town: Captain and Chef Bob Taylor (Calabash, NC)
Just over the South Carolina state border from Myrtle Beach is Calabash, North Carolina, a small commercial fishing town that's been known for generations, especially for its shrimp. For many beach goers, including many in my family, a trip to the beach wasn't complete without a visit to a fish...
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An Auspicious Journey for a Savannah Bakery (Savannah, GA)
For this "treat filled" Halloween conversation, Kaitlin Bryant and Mark Ekstrom, co-owners of Auspicious Baking Co. in Savannah, Ga., share their journey from humble beginnings to running a successful bakery with two locations, a wholesale business, and a full-service restaurant, Bread & Butter....
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Late Air's Approach to Hospitality and Savannah's Culinary Coming of Age (Savannah, GA)
Tucked into a modest brick building beside the train tracks at the intersection of Bull and Victory in Savannah, Georgia is Late Air. In this conversation, Colin Breland and Madeline Ott, co-owners of Late Air, discuss their journey in establishing a unique dining experience in a city whose...
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A Legacy of Family and Farming on Morning Glory Homestead (St. Helena Island, SC)
St. Helena is a storied South Carolina sea island and the epicenter of the rich cultural heritage of the Gullah Geechee community. Morning Glory Homestead is a family-run micro farm on the island, and through the work of farmers Tony and Belinda Jones, the stories of the island become rooted in…
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The Joy of Cultural Appreciation and Collaborative Skill at Sushi-Wa (Charleston, SC)
Within Sushi-Wa's small restaurant in Charleston, SC, there is a joyful sense of peace, anchored in an unlikely friendship where Kazu Murakami and Chris Schoedler have forged a schedule that allows them to joyfully show up to work and enjoy life outside of it too. This conversation explores the...
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Sammy Monsour & Kassady Wiggins: Salt & Shore Cookbook / Joyce LA (Charleston, SC)
I have a passion for sustainable seafood, and it's been both an important subject here on the show and the subject of many of my written pieces throughout the years. When I first interviewed Sammy Monsour in 2020, I discovered that we shared this passion, and I've watched as he has really…
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Michael Toscano: Le Farfalle, da Toscano, Porchetta Shop, & Fugazzi (Charleston, SC & NYC)
When I first spoke with Chef Michael Toscano in 2017, he and his family were just getting settled in Charleston with the opening of Le Farfalle. Now, seven years later, the chef seems as if he's truly settled into a new rhythm between NYC and the Lowcountry. He and his wife Caitlin currently have...
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Southern Fork Sustenance: A Conversation with Writer & Podcaster Deb Freeman about Edna Lewis and Virginia Foodways
Deborah Freeman is the creator of Setting the Table, a multi-award winning podcast exploring Black foodways and culinary history that in 2023 was honored by the International Association of Culinary Professionals as "Podcast of the Year." She's also a colleague in the food writing world, with...
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Roosevelt Brownlee: Jazz Chef and Soul Food Master (Savannah, GA)
Roosevelt Brownlee lives on the curve of a quiet street in Savannah, GA, the tall stalks of okra in his vegetable garden just visible from the side drive. It's one of many such streets in the port city, and only a few minutes from the old City Market area where he spent his earliest years. But in...
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Sandra Gutierrez: Latinísimo and the Home Cooking of Latin America (Cary, NC)
One of my greatest quiet joys is cooking from a well-written cookbook on a weekend night, music on the bluetooth and new scents and tastes filling the kitchen. My favorite cookbook that I've cooked from this year is Latinisimo: Home Recipes from the Twenty-One Country of Latin America by Sandra...
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Tim Gardner: Lula Drake Wine Parlor (Columbia, SC)
Columbia, SC's Main Street architecture still has much of the charm of a mid-century movie set. There are jewelry stores, restaurants, hotels, and gift shops in buildings that range from the turn of the 20th Century to modern day. Tucked in among the hustle and bustle is Lula Drake Wine Parlor,...
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Tuan Nguyen: Le's Sandwiches & Cafe (Charlotte, NC)
Charlotte, NC is one of the fastest growing metropolitan cities in the United States. While the city has always looked forward, it was actually founded before the American Revolution and the site of the first US Mint. But in the past two decades, the intense growth and the addition of a light…
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Southern Fork Sustenance: Talking Cookbooks and Editor Judith Jones with Author Sara Franklin
Over more than half a century as an editor at Knopf, Judith Jones became a legend, nurturing future literary icons such as Sylvia Plath, Anne Tyler, and John Updike. But although I was an English major, I first learned of Judith Jones years later, when I realized that Edna Lewis, M.F.K. Fisher,...
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Rollen Chalmers: Rollens Raw Grains (Levy, SC)
Rice was South Carolina's first great agricultural staple. Before the American Revolution, it had already made South Carolina the richest of the 13 original colonies, and Charleston one of the richest cities in the world. But it did so on the backs of enslaved skilled laborers, most of whom had...
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Shaun Brian Sells: Cudaco (James Island, SC)
Shaun Brian Sells started life in a two-person tent surrounded by plantation ruins in the flats of Coral Bay, St. John, US Virgin Islands. It was in that environment where his love for cooking began– by roaming and foraging through the valley, fishing off his dad's sailboat and cooking for up to...
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Adrian Lipscombe: Chef, 40 Acres Project (Austin, TX)
Adrian Lipscombe is a native Texan, a chef, an urban planner, and a civic activist, though she prefers the term catalyst. In 2016, she moved to La Crosse, Wisconsin and opened Uptowne Café, a gathering place and a space for her to explore the synergy behind her Southern upbringing, Midwest...
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Juan Cassalett: Malagón Mercado y Tapería (Charleston, SC)
Although Charleston, SC, has changed a lot, it is still one of the cities in the US with a decidedly European feel. Many parts of it are very walkable, there are cobblestone alleyways and al fresco dining, and lingering over a meal is absolutely encouraged. One of the best places to linger this...
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Wes Eason: Sunburst Trout Farms (Waynesville, NC)
On a cool, misty morning when the trees were bright green with their first flush of leaves, I rounded a corner on Route 215 in the NC Mountains and arrived at one of Sunburst Trout's rainbow trout farms. Pristine water flowed continuously into multiple holding ponds, which held different sizes of...
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Dave Smoke McCluskey: Corn Mafia (Augusta, GA)
Chef Dave "Smoke" McCluskey, an official member of the Mohawk nation, has spent more than 30 years in the culinary industry, in everything from fine dining kitchens to catering gigs to even organizing and hosting boucheries. Those are traditional gatherings centered around communal hog butchering...
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William Dissen: The Market Place (Asheville, NC)
Passion for your work can give you energy to do more than you ever dreamed you'd have time for. That's the case for William Dissen, chef of The Market Place in Asheville, NC, which this year, its 45th in operation, was named a semifinalist for Outstanding Restaurant by the James Beard Foundation....
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Jael Skeffington: French Broad Chocolates (Asheville, NC)
Jael Skeffington is the co-founder and CEO of French Broad Chocolates in Asheville, NC. What started in 2006 as a chocolate passion and a cafe in Costa Rica with her partner Dan, has grown to 85 employees, a Chocolate Lounge & Boutique in downtown Asheville, and an experiential Chocolate Factory…
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Philippe Feret: Hilton Head Social Bakery (Hilton Head Island, SC)
Do you ever consider going to Hilton Head Island, SC for a fresh-out-of-the-oven French baguette or a raspberry tart that's perhaps gilded with gold flakes and filled with lemon curd? Maybe not, but you might want to reconsider because Hilton Head Social Bakery, with two locations on the island,...
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Southern Fork Sustenance: Talking "Why Wine?" with Author and Editor Ray Isle
Despite the bio I'm about to share, I think Ray Isle is one of the least pretentious people in the wine world today. He grew up in Houston, and he learned to see wine as an adventure, an adventure that's taken him all around the world. Ray is the longtime executive wine editor for Food & Wine as...
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Robbie Robinson: City Limits BBQ (West Columbia, SC)
Augusta Road in West Columbia, SC, isn't a storybook setting. Strip malls are lined up down the road, flanking a Wal-Mart and a sprawling old school U Haul campus. But just keep going and turn off the road at the Aldi and there's a summer camp style building tucked in some trees and a modest BBQ...
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Dayna Lee: Comal 864 (Greenville, SC)
According to Saveur magazine, Border Food is defined as Mexican food with a distinct identity —influenced by the cooking of Chihuahua and Texas, but with a number of little twists. Because Texas is so large and diverse, it's a more nuanced label than the overarching Tex-Mex, and one surprising…
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Nikko Cagalanan: Kultura (Charleston, SC)
Chef Nikko Cagalanan was born and raised in the Philippines. After immigrating to the states in 2011 and working as a nurse, he found himself inspired to pursue cooking with the desire to share his passion for Filipino food. He moved to Charleston, SC in 2018 and began Mansueta's, a series of...
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A Special Episode from The One Recipe: Toni Tipton-Martin's Recipe for Blackberry-Ginger Bourbon Smash
Hi y'all, It's Stephanie, I'm excited to share with you another podcast you should check out through this episode of The One Recipe from APM Studios. On The Southern Fork I've talked to a lot of people about their food and their recipes. Pretty much everyone who cooks aspires to have a clutch of...
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A Special Episode from The Broadside: How Y'all Conquered the World
Hi! Stephanie here. It's been a while since you've heard from me, but as we get close to Thanksgiving, I want you to know that I'm thinking of y'all, and I'm thankful for every one of you who listen to The Southern Fork. I'm working hard over here in the background making podcast plans and...
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Season 8 Finale: Your Favorites & Steph's Best Bites
Host Stephanie Burt recaps Season 8 of the show, sharing the most listened to podcasts, her favorite bites of the season, and other details to keep the conversation going. Let's Dig In.
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Live with Alyssa Maute Smith: Charleston Wine + Food (Charleston, SC)
Charleston Wine + Food is a multi-day wine and food festival that takes place the first full weekend each March, and I have covered it as a media person, and/or participated as talent for all of its going-on 18 years excepting one. The following interview took place live in the midst of the...
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BBQ Inspirations for the Fall Equinox from Chris Lilly, Tuffy Stone, & Hector Garate (The American South)
Although The Southern Fork Summer Tour is over, we still have a few weeks together, and the weather has started to turn in much of the South. I don't know about you, but soon after I feel that first cool breeze, I can't wait to have a plate of barbecue. Maybe it's because in my North Carolina...
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Southern Fork Sustenance: A Conversation with Chef Scott Peacock (Marion, AL)
Alabama native Scott Peacock is a James Beard Award-winning chef and one of the foremost authorities on American Southern cuisine. He might be best known for his work at Watershed restaurant in Decatur, Georgia, and his partnership with culinary icon Edna Lewis, but his recipes and writing have...
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Scallop Diving with Captain Katie Jo Davis: KD Outdoors Fishing Charters (Crystal River, FL)
Despite the name, I was still so unprepared for how very clear much of the water is in the Crystal River region of Florida. From snaking like a teal ribbon around trees and under bridges, to reflecting clouds like a salty mirror, on the day I went out on it, our boat sped closer on its glassy...
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Andrea Gonzmart Williams: Columbia Restaurant & 1905 Family of Restaurants (Tampa, FL)
In 1905, Saloon Columbia in Tampa, FL officially became Columbia Restaurant, a place helmed by Casimiro Hernandez Sr. where cigar workers in Ybor City could rest and enjoy Spanish and Cuban food, or snag a sandwich to eat on the job. Through the years, the restaurant grew to envelop the entire…
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Bryce Bonsack: Rocca (Tampa, FL)
Rocca, located in the Tampa Heights neighborhood of Tampa, FL, is Chef Bryce Bonsack's love letter to the family who he worked for and lived with during his tutelage and pilgrimage in Italy. Showcasing fresh handmade pasta, mozzarella pulled tableside, and dry aged meats, Bryce creates an ever...
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Karen Bell: A.P. Bell Fish Co. & Star Fish Co. (Cortez, FL)
The day dawns humid and the waters of Sarasota Bay seem like a glassy mirror reflecting a pale blue sky. There are the sounds of birds as well as the gentle lapping of water up against a boat, sure, but more often than not, those sounds are drowned out by the sounds of fishermen calling out to…
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Zack Rasmussen & Natasha Ahuja: Gamble Creek Farms (Parrish, FL)
I've been covering food for close to two decades, and throughout my career, most of the high volume places I visit, and especially those in tourist areas, don't present menus that follow local seasons, feature local produce, or work with local farms. However, on Anna Maria Island, FL and...
About this show
Host Stephanie Burt travels the Southern United States (with a fork!) and chats with some of the most interesting voices in the culinary South. From chefs to farmers, bakers to brewers, and pitmasters to fishermen, they all have a story. Listen and learn more behind some of your favorite foods.
Hosted by
Stephanie Burt