One of the smartest, most forward-thinking people in New Orleans is an attorney named Liz Williams. She was born into a family of Sicilian heritage in that melting pot of a Southern city near the mouth of the Mississippi River. Williams grew up eating great food while also being fascinated by all things having to do with food.
Williams, who has practiced law in New Orleans and Washington, D.C., spent five years as the chief executive officer of the University of New Orleans Foundation. She was instrumental in the opening of the D-Day Museum, which since has transformed into a world-class attraction known as the World War II Museum. She also helped establish a 33-acre research park (Little Rock could take some lessons from her as the convoluted effort to start a technology park in the capital city continues). Under her leadership, the foundation also began the UNO Press and helped open the Ogden Museum of Southern Art. Through it all, Williams dreamed of a museum that would focus on the food and beverages of the South. A temporary exhibit on the history and influence of New Orleans beverages opened in June 2004.
“Our goal in opening the temporary space was to give the public a taste of what we hoped to create as we built support and solicited contributions for a permanent home,” Williams says. “While based in New Orleans, the museum examines and celebrates cultures that have come together through the centuries to create the South’s unique culinary heritage. It brings all races and ethnicities to the table to tell the tale, from the farmer and the homemaker to the line cook and the celebrity chef. The Southern Food and Beverage Museum celebrates, interprets, investigates, entertains and preserves. A collaboration of many, the museum allows food lovers of all stripes-Southerners and non-Southerners, locals and tourists, academics and food industry insiders-to pull up their chairs and dig into the food and drink of the South.”
The museum opened June 7, 2008, at the Riverwalk Marketplace along the Mississippi River in downtown New Orleans. When plans to turn the Riverwalk into an outlet mall were announced, Williams and others associated with the museum were forced to come up with an alternative vision. As always, Williams began thinking bigger and better. Having to leave the Riverwalk wasn’t adversity; it was an opportunity. A 30,000-square-foot museum soon will open in the former Dryades Market, a historic New Orleans location with a colorful history.
An 1847 city ordinance called for a market to be built on Dryades Street. That market opened in 1849 and was expanded many times through the years. It’s here that the Southern Food and Beverage Museum will house its exhibits along with a gift shop anda full-service restaurant. New Orleans has such a rich food history that the building could be filled with exhibits about the Crescent City. Williams, though, is determined to make this a regional attraction. That’s why a majorpart of the museum will be the Gallery of the States.
That’s where Arkansas comes in. Little Rock businessman Randy Ensminger is a Southern foodie of the first order. Ensminger, who’s developing a prime piece of real estate on the Little Red River near Heber Springs known as Primrose Creek, has been a member of the board of the SoFAB Institute, the museum’s parent organization, for a number of years. As a matter of full disclosure, I recently joined Ensminger as the second Arkansas representative on that board.
It was Ensminger who came up with the idea of a November gala that would have two goals. First, it would become one of the must-attend events on the state’s social calendar each year, a fun evening in a place where people could see and be seen. Second, it would raise money to fund the Arkansas exhibit at the Southern Food and Beverage Museum. The inaugural event is scheduled for Nov. 21 at the Capital Hotel in downtown Little Rock. Food and wine stations will feature pairings of Arkansas food with Presqu’ile wines.
The word “presqu’ile” is Creole for “almost an island.” It was the name of a home on the Gulf Coast at Pass Christian, Miss., that served for decades as a vacation retreat for the Murphy family of El Dorado. The home was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. A new Murphy-owned winery along California’s central coast was named Presqu’ile Winery to honor that part of the family heritage.
“Arkansas has an opportunity to showcase its culinary heritage with a permanent exhibit at the museum in New Orleans,” Ensminger says. “The Arkansas exhibit will allow our state to take its rightful place alongside other Southern states long known for outstanding food and beverage producers, products and purveyors.”
When it comes to national awareness, Arkansas cuisine long has been in the shadow of other Southern states. But young, talented producers and chefs have launched what I believe to be a new golden era for Arkansas food. Try the locally produced fare at restaurants such as South on Main in Little Rock, The Hive in Bentonville, Natchez in Little Rock, James at the Mill in Johnson or 28 Springs in Siloam Springs and you’ll see what I mean. The permanent Arkansas exhibit at this new tourist attraction in New Orleans will encourage people to travel to Arkansas and experience our state’s burgeoning food culture for themselves.
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Freelance columnist Rex Nelson is the president of Arkansas’ Independent Colleges and Universities. He’s also the author of the Southern Fried blog at rexnelsonsouthernfried.com.
Editorial, Pages 17 on 10/30/2013