A cookbook author and self-described Lowcountry culinary preservationist, John is an authority on the area's cuisine. He says, "You can trace some of the recipes going from Malaysia to India, to Madagascar to South Africa, to West Africa, and straight to Charleston with the slave trade." Asked about gumbo, he says, "People think of it as a Louisiana dish, but both the dish and the word were here before Louisiana was settled."
The word gumbo is derived from the African word for okra. I remember that when I step inside a roadside store and listen to Pink Brown tell a customer what she needs to make okra soup. I watch as she helps weigh tender green pods to go with the onions, tomatoes, and bell peppers on the counter.
Fresh and Simple
Pink and her father operate George & Pink Fresh Vegetables, which has been an Edisto Island, South Carolina, fixture for 30 years. And chef Philip Bardin is one of their top customers.
Philip is coproprietor, along with David Gressette, of The Old Post Office, a fabulous nearby restaurant. It's worth the hour drive to get there from Charleston. The menu includes Firecracker Flounder and the best shrimp and grits this side of heaven. "You don't have to use 15 new ingredients that come from all over the world," Philip says. "You can use what's right here."