Jim Shirley Lectures at the Prestigious 9th Annual Southern Foodways Symposium

Chef Jim Shirley, Executive chef and owner of the The Fish House Restaurant located on the water in historic downtown Pensacola, Florida has been invited to lecture at the prestigious 9th annual Southern Foodways symposium, October 19th – 22nd on the campus at the University of Mississippi.

This year’s symposium will dig deep into the subject of regionalism. This event provides opportunities for cooks, chefs, food writers, and inquisitive eaters alike to come to a better understanding of southern cuisine and Southern culture.

Chef Jim’s lecture entitled Gazpachi Salad: That aint a Typo, will explain the history of Pensacola’s native dish known as Gazpachi salad. According to local food historian Wilmer Mitchell, local legend has it that the dish is derived from Spanish and Italian sailors enjoying fresh produce in the form of Gazpacho soup, dipping their rock-hard sea biscuits into the cold broth to soften them. Gazpachi is a celebration of fresh local produce -- especially tomatoes. The exact recipe varies from family to family, but the basic ingredients will be taken from Jim’s cookbook: Good Grits, Southern Boy Cooks. Available at the Fish House and Atlas Restaurants.

The Atlas Oyster House is also offering a new cooking series to preserve the art and tradition of fine southern cooking.

So begins the Sweet Tea Southern Cooking Series. This series will take place during the winter months in the Atlas’ newly remodeled Captain’s room. Classes will be taught by the Fish House and Atlas chefs to teach locals traditional southern cooking methods and how to modernize each recipe if desired. All who come are encouraged to bring pictures, recipe cards and stories with regard to each featured recipe. The first recipe demonstration will be Gazpachi Salad: That aint a Typo – taught by none other than Executive Chef, Jim Shirley. The class will be held Monday evening October the 9th at 6pm. Come hungry!

Other classes will be announced on our website.

For more information sign up on our web page: www.goodgrits.com under the Get in on it link located in the bottom left hand corner of our site. We will send out invitations to all of those signed up for more information. Class size is limited to the first 30 folks who respond. This series is held as a courtesy to our loyal customers and email subscribers. Go to sign up today at www.goodgrits.com. It’s free!

Members of the press are always welcome to attend.