Many of us who are employed full-time might call what we do for fun away from work a hobby. But for Dr. Howard Conyers, the research and practice of BBQ pitmaster and now distiller is part of his life's mission, much more than a pastime when he's away from work. And what interesting work it is. At the age of 27, Howard earned a Doctorate in Mechanical Engineering with a specialty in Aeroelasticity from Duke University, making him one of less than 20 African Americans in the country to earn this degree, so by day, Dr. Conyers is a rocket scientist at NASA's Stennis Space Center. Beyond his days of considering how to break the bonds of the earth's atmosphere, he grounds himself back in the barbecue traditions of his youth (he cooked his first whole hog at 11 after all), and he aims to shine a light on the traditions of black BBQ cooks and the practice of whole animal barbecue in the South. He's a mentor for Kingsford's Preserve the Pit program celebrating Black barbecue culture; he was the host of a 2019 PBS Digital Series called Nourish; he's been featured in the New York Times, Bon Appetit, and Southern Living, and now he's taking his passion for storytelling and real-life practice into the world of moonshine with his new farm distillery, Backyard Distillery, in Manning, SC.

Jeremy Carter of Tarpon Cellars is more than just a winemaker; he is a student of taste, and he built his palate first in the South. A Georgia native, Jeremy attended Florida State University before moving to the Napa Valley in 2007 for an internship at his uncle's winery in Rutherford. He would soon hone his winemaking acumen through various positions at Luna, Chappellet, and Duckhorn while also studying winemaking at UC Davis. We recorded this interview during the Charleston Wine + Food festival, and this week, Jeremy was named one of the VinePair 50, a big accolade from the publication that is recognizing talented individuals doing great things to make the drinks space better and more creative. As VinePair writes, "Carter's goal is to introduce American wine lovers to grapes prominent in international regions but uncommon in California markets." And I'd add that he is creating wine that pairs perfectly with cuisine and climate in the South. For Jeremy, it's beyond the bottle to the sustainability, the community, and the communing around the table.

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.

There were more than 2 million weddings in the US last year, averaging out to around 6000 a day, and close to 80 percent included a custom-made wedding cake at the reception. For around 25 of those special couples, their cake designer was Minette Rushing of Savannah, GA. Her business, Custom Cakes, is not only known for the delicious cakes she bakes, but for the outstandingly beautiful and lifelike sugar paste flowers she hand builds to adorn them. From trailing wisteria blossoms in the palest purple to orchids and frilly-petaled garden roses, Minette creates sugary works of art that blush to life under her hand. Celebrities from Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck to designer Marc Jacobs have wowed their guests with a Minette made cake, and her work has been featured in Martha Stewart Weddings, on the Food Network, and in Vogue, the magazine that started it all for her. She shares the love for craftsmanship and artistry one petal a time in classes, and she is a big advocate of doing what you are joyfully drawn to, then putting in the work and the practice to make that dream a reality.

Sam Fore is a first-generation Sri Lankan-American chef from Lexington, Kentucky, and she is a force in what it means to be cooking in America right now. She started her pop up, Tuk Tuk Sri Lankan Bites, in 2016, after brunches in her home outgrew her dining room. Her pop-ups are one of the few representations of Sri Lankan cuisine in the United States and are a reflection of her first-generation upbringing in the American South. Her dishes include her spin on Southern classics as well as new riffs on her family's, and her work has been featured in multiple national publications, including the cover of Food & Wine magazine in 2018. In 2020, she was selected as one of Southern Living's Cooks of the Year and this year, Sam has been honored by the James Beard Foundation as a Semi-Finalist for Best Chef: Southeast. Tuk Tuk Snack Shop, her first brick and mortar restaurant, is slated to open in Lexington by Fall 2023.

Husband and wife team Erin Eisele and James Alford created the concept for Cork & Cap Bottle Shop on their first date. It now lives beyond the imagination in a yellow Craftsman house in downtown Aiken, SC, and in the few years it's been opened, has impacted the culinary landscape of the Midlands. James, a wine professional, had worked for distributors, in restaurants crafting wine lists, including Motor Supply Company in Columbia, SC, and as a consultant. Sip by sip, he learned exactly what he'd like to put on the shelves. Erin, a native of Aiken and marketing and local food advocate, understood the region and the way spaces and places like Cork & Cap can make an impact on a community and for the producers they champion. Together they've created a space that is way more than a retail shop: it is a learning experience, an enthusiastic advocate for modern wine making, a community space, and a place -- essentially-- that is much more about the culture of sharing good food and drink around the table than just a bottle of wine. Wine is the creative beginning for Erin and James, and it is taking them delicious places.

One thing that is wonderful about a life in cooking is that the path doesn't have to be straight and narrow. Chef Noah Whritenour of Stevedore Bakery in Savannah, GA is a New York native, graduated from Johnson and Wales in Rhode Island, has worked in kitchens all over the country from Martha's Vineyard to Colorado, and honed his craft mainly on the savory side of things. However, the sweet side of the professional kitchen kept calling to him and he finally decided to commit to pastry a few years ago while at Husk Savannah. He leaned hard into the practice and landed the role of Executive Pastry Chef of the Thompson Savannah hotel and there, along with Culinary Director Rob Newton, opened the Stevedore. Each day he and his team create flaky croissants and various other treats, dig into the science of sourdough as it relates to the Savannah climate, and use local ingredients as inspiration to create breads and pastries that often have a taste of Southern soil. He's at the perfect point in his pastry career to share some prime tips about setting yourself up for baking success, so we focus on that here, well, that, and some country ham and tinned fish, too.

Judith Winfrey is one of the most respected voices in the Southern foodscape. She's spent a lifetime in food, from working in various positions in restaurants, to running a meal kit delivery business for five years, to being the COO of Linton Hopkins' Atlanta-based restaurant group. She is the co-founder of both Wholesome Wave Georgia and Community Farmers Markets, has been recognized as one of Atlanta Magazine's 500 Most Powerful Leaders, and by the New York Times as a "Woman Who is Changing the Landscape of Leadership." All of that is evidence that when she's building something new, it has the strong ribs of research and real world expertise at its core. Since 2008, Judith and her husband Joe Reynolds have co-owned Love is Love Farm, a certified organic farm growing a diversity of vegetables and fruit through soil-based agricultural practices. In 2018, Joe and Judith came together with a group of ambitious, experienced, and educated young farmers: Monica Ponce, Russell Honderd, and Demetrius Milling, and they bonded around a shared vision to farm collectively. Beginning in 2021, Love is Love Farm converted to a worker-owned cooperative and began farming on 70 acres in Mansfield, GA on land they will ultimately own through The Working Farms Fund. All that might sound somewhat heady and theoretical, but it is grounded in good Georgia soil and the love of good food.

Charlotte, NC has a love affair with fast, casual food. Maybe it's the brisk pace of the banking world or the sprawl of roads that make commute times long but whatever it is, the city doesn't shy away from standing in line and ordering counter service. One of its favorite spots is Yafo Kitchen, which has multiple locations and is brought up by Charlotteans almost every time I visit with phrases like "Have you had their hummus?" or "I just try not to go more than once a week." And that's because of Shai Fargian, Executive Chef and Partner at Yafo, who began this local chain with a dedication to making Charlotte fall in love with Middle Eastern food. Originally from Israel, Shai's cooking lessons began when he was a child alongside his grandmother. He served in the Israeli Army for seven years, eventually rising to serve as an Operations Officer leading a brigade of 2000 people. After retiring and enrolling in college, he began cooking in kitchens, moving through the ranks there too, then moving to the US, where Shai worked in New York City under restaurateur David Burke. In 2015, he and his wife Sharon moved to Charlotte, and in 2016, Yafo was born. Shai sources locally whenever he can, applies his love of operations to his culinary creativity, and as for that hummus? It's made in house, and the restaurant serves 180 gallons of it a week.

What is Southern food? And how does that differ from asking the question, What is cooking in the South? Those are just the sort of questions I try to answer through each episode of The Southern Fork, so it's fitting to begin this, our eighth season together, with a conversation with Chris "Chino" Hathcock of Husk Savannah in Savannah, GA. He's been working to define his style for four years under a mantle of an iconic Southern restaurant brand -- Husk-- interpreting Southern ingredients through his own personal lens, all while focusing on sourcing locally. That's what cooking in the South means to him, and he's built that point of view through working in some of the best kitchens in the region, including Empire State South and Staplehouse in Atlanta and Two Boroughs Larder in Charleston. Chino was recognized in 2016 as a Forbes 30 under 30 recipient, and was named a semifinalist for 2014 and 2015 Eater Young Gun, but as he has grown creatively, he's still fascinated with the process of cooking and interested as to where it's going to lead him next.