New Orleans is a city with many fascinating niche museums covering subjects unique both to the city and to southern heritage. One we recommend for all food lovers is the Southern Food & Beverage Museum, a.k.a. SoFAB. And, indeed, it is so fabulous to visit if you are a food history culture vulture. The Museum is a love letter to the historical influences and cultures of southern food, state by state and story by story. Every time we visit, we discover another tasty tidbit about how the southern states have contributed to our foodways. Special permanent exhibits include the Museum of the American Cocktail (MOTAC), the Leah Chase Louisiana Gallery and Brunings Bar. This bar dates to 1859, making it one of the city’s oldest. The bar was salvaged from the wreckage of Hurricane Katrina, restored and installed in SoFAB.
Founder Liz Williams conceived the museum in 2004 and started with a popup exhibit. Then came Hurricane Katrina, and plans were stalled. When Melanie was producing the 2006 James Beard Foundation Awards, a tribute to the City of New Orleans and its restaurants, she invited Williams to install a special exhibit at the Awards Reception to promote the museum. Flash forward to 2008, when SoFAB found its space at the Riverwalk Marketplace overlooking the Mississippi. The Museum of the American Cocktail, originally located at the Pharmacy Museum in the French Quarter, relocated to SoFAB in 2014 and is now a permanent exhibit.
Liz Williams celebrates SoFAB’s 20th anniversary with a new cookbook and cake.
In 2011, the Museum relocated to its current and larger space and opened on September 29, 2014. The building once served as the public Dryades Market in Central City, New Orleans, an area of the city with historical significance for being a commercial center for many businesses owned by members of New Orleans’ Black and Jewish communities. Formerly known as Dryades Street, it was renamed for civil rights activist Oretha Castle Haley in 1989.
SoFAB stirs up memories for many a southerner, including Melanie, who grew up in Chattanooga, Tennessee, home of the Moon Pie snack. In addition to exhibits dedicated all the southern states and MOTAC, the Museum also houses the Deelightful Roux School of Cooking, the Nitty Grits Podcast Network and the National Culinary Heritage Register and Research Center. There are many special events including tastings, lectures, special exhibitions and educational programs for children.
At a June 20th press conference, museum officials revealed plans to commemorate SoFab’s 20th anniversary, including the release of the Museum’s first ever cookbook, “SoFAB Cook Book: Recipes from the Modern South,” by Founder Liz Williams & Maddie Hayes with a foreword written by renowned New Orleans restaurateur, Dickie Brennan (LSU Press). A series of special exhibitions are planned, including the history of coffee, entitled “The Natural Port: A Look At Coffee Culture in New Orleans,” opening Wednesday, July 24, and the history of tailgating, opening in the Fall as the city prepares to host Super Bowl LIX in February 2025. Of course, we’re looking forward to this Fall’s celebratory event to commemorate the 125h anniversary of Oysters Rockefeller, a dish invented in New Orleans in 1899 at Antoine’s (the city’s oldest restaurant) by second generation owner and chef, Jules Alciatore.
“When it comes to culinary and cocktail culture, New Orleans consistently ranks at the top of the list. Our restaurants and chefs are second to none and a driving force in our tourism economy, so it is natural that the South’s top culinary museum – SoFAB – is located right here in New Orleans where cuisine is at the heart of how our great American city celebrates life and brings joy to travelers from all over the world,” said New Orleans & Company Chief Marketing Officer Mark Romig, who served as the press conference emcee. Press conference speakers also included SoFAB officials: Williams, Founder; Constance “Connie” Jackson, Newly Appointed CEO and Butler Burdine, Incoming Board Chairman.
The Southern Food & Beverage Museum is located at 1504 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd. Website: www.southernfood.org. Follow the museum on Instagram and Facebook
At the SOFAB press conference: Kelly Ransom, Louisiana Department of Agriculture; Chef Frank Brigtsen, Brigtsen’s; Liz Williams, SoFAB Founder; Mark Romig, Senior VP /CMO, New Orleans & Co.; Butler Burdine, SoFAB Board Chair; and Melanie Young, Founder, The Connected Table
Listen to The Connected Table LIVE with Liz Williams, here