This week’s episode is a bit of a departure, but something very personal to me and essential to how I approach the varied work I do. I have been drawn to having deeper discussions about the nature of food and how we think about it, so I wanted to let you in a little to my behind-the-scenes by bringing this into the show once a quarter or so. Those of you who subscribe to the newsletter might find a somewhat familiar tone in these “Southern Fork Sustenance” episodes, which will be conversations with thought leaders that explore the deeper bedrock upon which The Southern Fork is built. Shane Mitchell, a writing mentor of mine as well as a colleague, is my first guest to walk us into this kind of conversation. She is the author of Far Afield: Rare Food Encounters From Around the World, an editor-at-large at Saveur, a six-time James Beard nominee for food writing with three wins, including the MFK Fisher Distinguished Writing Prize, and her work has appeared in everything from Travel + Leisure to Serious Eats, with a significant part of her most recent articles a series called Crop Cycles for The Bitter Southerner.  Although she currently makes her home in New York State when not on the road, she has 325 years of deep family roots on Edisto Island, SC.