SoFAB to launch first cookbook to celebrate its 20th anniversary

The big picture: SoFAB was founded in 2004 by Liz Williams, who continues on at the museum in an emeritus role and co-authored the cookbook.

• From its origin as a pop-up with borrowed artifacts to its current prime spot on Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard in Central City, the museum has anchored Southern food as a vital part of American culture since its inception.
• "So many people were thinking of the South as … 'country food' in the '60s and '70s, and it was not refined," says newly-minted SoFAB executive director Connie Jackson.
• But now, "people are saying, 'Oh, no, this is truly American food' [with] ingredients that came from West Africa on slave ships, and Native American ingredients that were found in natural bounty here. … The world has recognized that this is cuisine on a high level."

Southern food, but healthy

The latest: Now, the museum is readying for the next generation of Southern cooking.

• "Food is so central. It's love. It's sorrow. It's sympathy. It's whatever you need. It's celebration. It's all those things wrapped into one, but it's also killing us," Jackson says.
• "How can we celebrate this food? … Can we have this food in a healthier way? And how can we make sure the skills don't get lost?"

To answer those questions, the museum is looking to its kids' cooking camps and considering community health program partnerships to help families form good home-cooking habits.

• That practice is more than a useful skill, Jackson says.
• It can teach math, save money and create a palate that'll lean toward healthier choices for a person's whole life, she says.

Zoom in: Jackson also hopes to expand the use of the museum's professional cooking space, used previously for residencies, like James Beard Award-winning Serigne Mbaye's early Dakar pop-ups.

• "We want to help more entrepreneurs get their businesses launched," Jackson says. "A lot of people here are focused on cooking and restaurants. But the other part of food is product, and product is the thing where people really build wealth."

Cookbook release party

Dig in: The museum is hosting a release party Saturday for the cookbook, "SoFAB Cook Book: Recipes from the Modern South."

• Like the museum in book form, it includes chef-crafted recipes specific to each Southern state, according to a press release.
• Brandan "BMIKE" Odums will also collaborate with SoFAB on a new piece in honor of the anniversary.
• And the museum is planning two big bashes later this year to celebrate its anniversary and the 125th anniversary of the invention of oysters Rockefeller at Antoine's.

What's next: The museum will open a new exhibit July 24 focusing on the story of New Orleans' role at the center of coffee imports.

• Another exhibit, due open this fall in anticipation of the Super Bowl here in 2025, will tell the history of tailgating.