Gullah Geechee cuisine and Chef Joe Randall both sit at the intersection of history, tradition, culture

This is an opinion commentary by arts and culture columnist Maxine L. Bryant.

Much of Gullah Geechee culture is connected to the waterways and the foodways.  The waterways (ocean waters surrounding the Sea Islands where Gullah Geechee people live) were pathways to freedom for the escaping enslaved persons and a source of food for consumption. The foodways are where history, tradition and culture meet.

This is especially true for the Gullah Geechee. The culture did not begin on the southeastern shores of the United States, but rather thousands of years ago along the coast of West Africa. There they cultivated rice, harvested cowpeas, okra and moringa as part of their diets and medicinal and religious traditions. Gullah Geechee cuisine reflects the long history of that culture.

Certain foods on our tables today are synonymous with Gullah Geechee cuisine: Shrimp and grits, red rice, collard greens, she-crab soup, yams. Low Country Boil. Hoppin' Johns. Red rice & peas. These dishes, however, did not originate in the Carolinas, coastal Georgia or northern Florida along what is now the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor. They traveled with African who were captured and brought to these shores. These foodways represent more than good taste and downhome cooking. They are about ancestral ties, adaptability to a new world, creativity, and making do with what’s available. In fact, it is said that cooking Gullah food is a spiritual experience.

West Africans from places such as Sierra Leone and Liberia were brought to the southeastern coasts of the colonies largely for their rice growing skills and knowledge. Ingredients, including spices and herbs, and the cooking methods were passed down orally – there were no written recipes. The best Gullah Geechee cooks prepare whole meals without measuring cups or specific cooking times.

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Gullah Geechee food has been described as “flavor without frills,” and few know better than award winning Chef Joe Randall.  He’s been cooking for more than 55 years and shared a few things with me in a recent conversation.

While there are similarities between Creole cooking in Louisiana and Gullah cooking in these parts, there are distinct differences. Take for example shrimp and grits. In Louisiana, this dish includes tasso ham and andouille sausage to add a deep salty flavor to the shrimp, and it is made with cream. Many recipes also call for various kinds of cheese.

In the Low country, the shrimp is sautéed with flour to create a savory stock for gravy. Onions, garlic and bacon are added for aromatics and a powerful taste.

Another example is Savannah red rice. This delicious dish is a derivative of jollof rice from West Africa. Jambalaya is the Louisiana version and incorporates more seafood, such as shrimp and crab meat. A noted difference between Savannah red rice and jambalaya is that while the preparation for both may begin on top of the stove, Savannah red rice is always finished in the oven. In addition, the seasonings are different. And the seasonings and ingredients are what make good Gullah cooking uniquely desirable and tasty ― sometimes even denoting slight regional differences, such as in the case of red rice prepared in Charleson, which generally includes bacon. Savannahians add smoked sausage, instead.

Integrating subtle nuances in food preparation is one of the factors that makes Randall an especially noteworthy cook. Randall became interested in cooking as a result of watching his uncle, Richard Ross, a chef at the restaurant he owned in Pittsburg in the early ‘50s. Randall grew up helping his uncle at the restaurant and his mom in their home kitchen. It wasn’t long before he developed a love for the art of creating mouthwatering dishes.

By 1995, this award-winning chef launched his culinary consulting firm, Chef Joe Randall & Associates. In 1998, Randall and food historian/author/editor Toni Tipton-Martin published the cookbook “A Taste of Heritage: The New African American Cuisine,” which was inducted earlier this year into the James Beard Foundation's Cookbook Hall of Fame.

In 1999 he moved to Savannah and during his first year in the city, he worked for Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) as the director of food service. He perfected his craft so well that he is now one of only four living chefs to be honored by the Smithsonian National Museum of African American Culture. Paying attention as a young boy has definitely paid off for him.

The foundation of American regional cooking

There is an African proverb:  "When an old man dies, a library burns to the ground."

These wise words speak to the knowledge that disappears when an elder dies without having shared what he/she knows. This is what prompted Randall to open a cooking school – to make sure others who came after him would learn from him and pass on what they learned. Known as the “Dean of Southern Cuisines,” Randall operated Chef Joe Randall’s Cooking School here in Savannah for 20 years.

In 2017 he closed the school as his own, changed the name to the African American Chef’s Hall of Fame and retired.  Later that year, he came out of retirement to help Stephen Moore open one of Savannah’s hottest jazz spots, Good Times Bar & Grill. For the first six months, Randall served in a consulting role as the head executive chef.  He was hired to develop menus, hire staff, manage the kitchen and oversee the “running of the house.”

According to Randall, Gullah or southern cooking is considered complete cuisine. It is the foundation of American cooking in the southern region of the country.  Before 1978, there was no such thing as American regional cooking – it was just good food and bad food. Good food came from the South because southern cooks were not afraid to use an abundance of seasonings. And, as mentioned previously, it’s the seasonings that set Gullah Geechee dishes apart.

Now, restaurants across the southeast offer Gullah food as a different variety from good ole’ southern cooking.  In fact, some authentic Gullah cooks have expressed concern about appropriation of Gullah Geechee dishes – where mainstream cooks and restaurants capitalize on a culture that did not originate with them. In fact, the concern regarding people who make money by selling Gullah Geechee culture is widespread among many within the community.

When it comes to good eatin’, authentic Gullah Geechee dishes are in a class by themselves. Ask Randall. Better yet, go by Good Times Bar and Grill to taste his authentic Gullah Geechee dishes. You’ll enjoy good food, good music, and have a good time.

Maxine L. Bryant, Ph.D., is a contributing lifestyles columnist. She is an assistant professor, Department of Criminal Justice & Criminology; director, Center for Africana Studies, and director, Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Center at Georgia Southern University, Armstrong Campus.

Contact her at 912-344-3602 or email dr.maxinebryant@gmail.com. See more columns by her at SavannahNow.com/lifestyle/.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Coastal Georgia's Gullah Geechee cuisine steeped in West African culture