Richard Porcher and David S. Shields
join the CGRF Board
January 2007
Plant biologist Richard Porcher
(Professor emeritus, Department of Biology, The Citadel) and
cultural historian David S. Shields (McClintock Professor of
Southern Letters, University of South Carolina) were elected to the
Board of Directors of the Carolina Gold Rice Foundation at the
October 2006 meeting in Charleston. Each has developed distinctive
areas of expertise about the history of rice cultivation and
kitchen use in the South.
Dr. Richard Porcher, widely known for his lavishly illustrated A Guide to the Wildflowers of South Carolina, had devoted much of the past decade to documenting the ecology of traditional rice fields in South Carolina. He has collected historic seed stock at numbers of historic mills and processing sites in the state, a valuable resource in determining the genetic profile of Carolina Gold over the past century and a half. His current work includes a systematic investigation of the evolution of rice milling—its technology, economics, and labor culture.
Dr. David Shields, an extensively published historian of early southern history, literature, and culture, directed the landmark 2004 conference, Cuisines of the Lowcountry and the Caribbean, co-sponsored by Johnson & Wales University and the College of Charleston’s Program in the Carolina Lowcountry & the Atlantic World. He has collected every recipe employing rice published in antebellum American periodicals and has amassed an extensive archive of printed articles and pamphlets dealing with 18th-and early 19th-century rice agriculture.
Porcher and Shields will bring different strengths to the CGRF. Porcher has agreed to superintend a graduate student survey of historic rice processing structures for surviving seed samples. Shields will take over the editing of “The Rice Paper.”
Dr. Richard Porcher, widely known for his lavishly illustrated A Guide to the Wildflowers of South Carolina, had devoted much of the past decade to documenting the ecology of traditional rice fields in South Carolina. He has collected historic seed stock at numbers of historic mills and processing sites in the state, a valuable resource in determining the genetic profile of Carolina Gold over the past century and a half. His current work includes a systematic investigation of the evolution of rice milling—its technology, economics, and labor culture.
Dr. David Shields, an extensively published historian of early southern history, literature, and culture, directed the landmark 2004 conference, Cuisines of the Lowcountry and the Caribbean, co-sponsored by Johnson & Wales University and the College of Charleston’s Program in the Carolina Lowcountry & the Atlantic World. He has collected every recipe employing rice published in antebellum American periodicals and has amassed an extensive archive of printed articles and pamphlets dealing with 18th-and early 19th-century rice agriculture.
Porcher and Shields will bring different strengths to the CGRF. Porcher has agreed to superintend a graduate student survey of historic rice processing structures for surviving seed samples. Shields will take over the editing of “The Rice Paper.”
Message from the President
August 2005
The USS Constitution is the oldest
commissioned warship afloat in the world. With over two centuries
of associated manifests, journals and logs, researchers consider
the Constitution’s archives the mother lode of American maritime
history. Despite the integrity of its records, USS Constitution
history seems an unlikely source for the documentation of American
foodways of the early 19th century. Yet it is. Carolina Gold rice
was a staple aboard the USS Constitution from the time of its
maiden voyage in 1798 until 1900.
On July 4, 2005, just seven weeks before the Carolina Gold Rice Symposium, the USS Constitution shipped Carolina Gold rice aboard for the first time in more than a century. This shipment, courtesy of the Carolina Gold Rice Foundation, validates the educational role of Carolina Gold rice today, and confirms its historic and pervasive role in American—not just in Southern—foodways.
This latest is one of a number of events that confirms the growing popularity and interest in the authenticity of Carolina Gold rice and its cuisine, the Carolina Rice Kitchen. Last summer, Thomas Keller, owner of The French Laundry and Per Se restaurants—and regarded as one of the world’s top chefs—served Carolina Gold Rice at the “Revolution in Food” event in London. This spring, PBS launched a pilot for its new series “Restoration Stories” with a segment featuring the restoration of Carolina Gold Rice. (The segment will air in 75 US cities in the next three months.) In May of this year, the Oxford American featured an article by John Martin Taylor on Dr. Richard Schulze’s repatriation of Carolina Gold rice in South Carolina.
And the Symposium has yet to take place!
At this moment dozens of Charleston’s best chefs and scholars the world over are putting the final touches on Symposium recipes and presentations. Sixty acres of Carolina Gold Rice (the first plantings of this magnitude in 80 years) ripen in fields along the South Carolina coast. Rare breeds squab and pork fatten on Carolina Gold Rice feed for the first time since the Depression. Artisan brewers are sourcing recipes for authentic ginger beer and rice wine. A local Sea Island grower tends olives in anticipation of the production of his estate oil for the Rice Bread Exhibition. The staffs of the CGRF, the Culinary Institute of Charleston, the Charleston Museum, the Gibbes Museum of Art and Middleton Place are all engaged in preparations for your arrival.
Glenn Roberts
President & CEO
On July 4, 2005, just seven weeks before the Carolina Gold Rice Symposium, the USS Constitution shipped Carolina Gold rice aboard for the first time in more than a century. This shipment, courtesy of the Carolina Gold Rice Foundation, validates the educational role of Carolina Gold rice today, and confirms its historic and pervasive role in American—not just in Southern—foodways.
This latest is one of a number of events that confirms the growing popularity and interest in the authenticity of Carolina Gold rice and its cuisine, the Carolina Rice Kitchen. Last summer, Thomas Keller, owner of The French Laundry and Per Se restaurants—and regarded as one of the world’s top chefs—served Carolina Gold Rice at the “Revolution in Food” event in London. This spring, PBS launched a pilot for its new series “Restoration Stories” with a segment featuring the restoration of Carolina Gold Rice. (The segment will air in 75 US cities in the next three months.) In May of this year, the Oxford American featured an article by John Martin Taylor on Dr. Richard Schulze’s repatriation of Carolina Gold rice in South Carolina.
And the Symposium has yet to take place!
At this moment dozens of Charleston’s best chefs and scholars the world over are putting the final touches on Symposium recipes and presentations. Sixty acres of Carolina Gold Rice (the first plantings of this magnitude in 80 years) ripen in fields along the South Carolina coast. Rare breeds squab and pork fatten on Carolina Gold Rice feed for the first time since the Depression. Artisan brewers are sourcing recipes for authentic ginger beer and rice wine. A local Sea Island grower tends olives in anticipation of the production of his estate oil for the Rice Bread Exhibition. The staffs of the CGRF, the Culinary Institute of Charleston, the Charleston Museum, the Gibbes Museum of Art and Middleton Place are all engaged in preparations for your arrival.
Glenn Roberts
President & CEO
Newsworthy!
August 2005
More than 4 million people visit
Charleston every year, but only a fraction of them travel less than
half an hour north of the city to the legendary plantations along
the Ashley River. Of the three surviving plantations, Middleton
Place, a National Historic Landmark, offers the most complete
picture of 18th- and 19th-century plantation life: the rice
culture, its dependence upon slave labor, and the opulence to which
the Carolina planter families grew accustomed…
Middleton Place was featured in the June 25th edition of US News & World Reports in an article entitled “Ins & Outs: Charleston’s Ashley River Plantations.”
Middleton Place was featured in the June 25th edition of US News & World Reports in an article entitled “Ins & Outs: Charleston’s Ashley River Plantations.”
Champion Pit Master Unites with
CGRF
August 2005
Jimmy Hagood (of Tidewater Foods &
Catering, LLC, Specialty Foods South, LLC, and the BlackJack
Barbecue Cooking Team) has joined the planning committee for the
Carolina Gold Rice Symposium and will play a vital role in
preparing both the Friday plantation lunch at the Charleston Museum
and the Rare Breeds lunch at Middleton Place. Hagood, a Charleston
native, is well-known for his penchant for good food and his
interest in preserving and re-invigorating regional foodways.
This past spring, Hagood cemented his stature in the barbecue world with his team’s performance in the Memphis in May World Barbecue Cooking Championship. The Symposium Planners knew without a doubt that the Ossabaw Island Pigs from Caw Caw Pastured Pork would be in the right hands when they received this email from Jimmy:
This past weekend 250 teams competed in the Memphis in May World Barbecue Cooking Championship. The BlackJack Barbecue Cooking Team placed 5th in the very competitive Pork Shoulder category. After a first place finish in the North Carolina State Championship last summer, we knew we were closing in on a top five finish in Memphis and our hard work has paid off.
The Super Bowl of Swine in Memphis is the grand daddy of all
cooking contests in the world and we knew we had to be on top of
our game to compete. We had an 8th Place finish in 2001, our first
year, but this year we topped most of the competition. It’s very
gratifying to know that we worked together as a team, each person
doing his or her part, and the sum of all this work is much greater
than I envisioned. We even had an opportunity to be filmed by the
Food Channel as we were preparing our product for cooking and then
again as we were preparing our site for judging.
All in all the past week was exhilarating and we are looking forward to participating in future contests. I want to thank my fellow team mates Andrew Hagood, JB McCarty, Dever McCarty, Doug Jones and my wife Anne Marie. I also want to thank our sponsors for their contributions to our success.
Congratulations to Jimmy & the Blackjack Barbecue Team!
Tidewater Catering’s and BlackJack Barbecue Cooking Team’s Big Red Rig – The Ultimate Barbecue Experience. This newest addition is 27’ long and has 2 state-of-the-art wood burning cookers.
This past spring, Hagood cemented his stature in the barbecue world with his team’s performance in the Memphis in May World Barbecue Cooking Championship. The Symposium Planners knew without a doubt that the Ossabaw Island Pigs from Caw Caw Pastured Pork would be in the right hands when they received this email from Jimmy:
This past weekend 250 teams competed in the Memphis in May World Barbecue Cooking Championship. The BlackJack Barbecue Cooking Team placed 5th in the very competitive Pork Shoulder category. After a first place finish in the North Carolina State Championship last summer, we knew we were closing in on a top five finish in Memphis and our hard work has paid off.
All in all the past week was exhilarating and we are looking forward to participating in future contests. I want to thank my fellow team mates Andrew Hagood, JB McCarty, Dever McCarty, Doug Jones and my wife Anne Marie. I also want to thank our sponsors for their contributions to our success.
Congratulations to Jimmy & the Blackjack Barbecue Team!
Tidewater Catering’s and BlackJack Barbecue Cooking Team’s Big Red Rig – The Ultimate Barbecue Experience. This newest addition is 27’ long and has 2 state-of-the-art wood burning cookers.
Notes from a Heritage Farmer
August 2005
by Emile DeFelice
I knew I was getting in deep when I started feeding our heritage pigs heritage food scraps! But then again, the community aspect of food production and consumption is not new at all, so a small time rare pig grower and an artisinal miller are a fairly predictable pair, but like their products, a little rare these days.
That’s one of the small ways Caw Caw Creek Pastured Pork effects big changes, and allowed us to cut costs, capture value in waste, conserve rare breeds, improve the environment, all the while providing better meat.
Our pigs enjoy an enormous space with pasture, crops to glean, and forest to mast. When I first started raising pigs for home use, I carted away two van loads of organic refuse from the local health food supermarket a week, and made some delicious pork. As the numbers of pigs grew, I knew that being smart about procuring food would lower costs and make pigs happy—and tasty. Our main supplemental food gift comes from my old friend Glenn Roberts of Anson Mills.
Glenn has been a major supporter of our farm since I began as one of his purveyors in his former career as an executive with a group of fine dining establishments, during my former career as a produce grower. We both developed specialties arising from that time, and now work together in a new context of historical and slow food production, and waste disposal service!
From the mill, we receive weekly truckloads of corn tailings, wheat middlings, rice hulls, and rice bran. We mix this with one day expired certified organic dairy, egg, and tofu products, for a meal that pigs literally stack themselves three high to get at. Pigs just love the crazy mixture of chocolate milk, yogurts, eggs, half and half, and the mill by-products serve to congeal the mix and provide extra energy with small bits of grain throughout. Transforming waste into a core ingredient of our feed program benefits both giver and receiver, and most of all the pigs. We also receive periodic organic whole corn, wheat, and rice from Anson Mills, making our pork not only delicious, but inimitable.
And—it is positively the best job ever for farm children, opening and dumping containers and making a solid mess of themselves!
In addition, Glenn and I have planted different crops on certified organic fields such as heritage corn, wheat, peas, and rice, in a minimum impact setting and in the case of the peas and rice, hoping to naturalize these plants for different environmental and forage benefits.
This summer, we thought it would be fun to serve you heritage meat raised on heritage grains. Carolina Gold Rice Foundation will serve some of the rarest pigs in the world, the Ossabaw Island Pig, that will be finished on Carolina Gold Rice. The dark and well marbled Ossabaw meat is prized in New York City and by the greatest chefs in the United States—but, for the most part, they can’t get it. You will though, and we hope you enjoy it.
Emile DeFelice of Caw Caw Creek Pastured Pork in St. Matthews is the current president of the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association.
I knew I was getting in deep when I started feeding our heritage pigs heritage food scraps! But then again, the community aspect of food production and consumption is not new at all, so a small time rare pig grower and an artisinal miller are a fairly predictable pair, but like their products, a little rare these days.
That’s one of the small ways Caw Caw Creek Pastured Pork effects big changes, and allowed us to cut costs, capture value in waste, conserve rare breeds, improve the environment, all the while providing better meat.
Our pigs enjoy an enormous space with pasture, crops to glean, and forest to mast. When I first started raising pigs for home use, I carted away two van loads of organic refuse from the local health food supermarket a week, and made some delicious pork. As the numbers of pigs grew, I knew that being smart about procuring food would lower costs and make pigs happy—and tasty. Our main supplemental food gift comes from my old friend Glenn Roberts of Anson Mills.
Glenn has been a major supporter of our farm since I began as one of his purveyors in his former career as an executive with a group of fine dining establishments, during my former career as a produce grower. We both developed specialties arising from that time, and now work together in a new context of historical and slow food production, and waste disposal service!
From the mill, we receive weekly truckloads of corn tailings, wheat middlings, rice hulls, and rice bran. We mix this with one day expired certified organic dairy, egg, and tofu products, for a meal that pigs literally stack themselves three high to get at. Pigs just love the crazy mixture of chocolate milk, yogurts, eggs, half and half, and the mill by-products serve to congeal the mix and provide extra energy with small bits of grain throughout. Transforming waste into a core ingredient of our feed program benefits both giver and receiver, and most of all the pigs. We also receive periodic organic whole corn, wheat, and rice from Anson Mills, making our pork not only delicious, but inimitable.
And—it is positively the best job ever for farm children, opening and dumping containers and making a solid mess of themselves!
In addition, Glenn and I have planted different crops on certified organic fields such as heritage corn, wheat, peas, and rice, in a minimum impact setting and in the case of the peas and rice, hoping to naturalize these plants for different environmental and forage benefits.
This summer, we thought it would be fun to serve you heritage meat raised on heritage grains. Carolina Gold Rice Foundation will serve some of the rarest pigs in the world, the Ossabaw Island Pig, that will be finished on Carolina Gold Rice. The dark and well marbled Ossabaw meat is prized in New York City and by the greatest chefs in the United States—but, for the most part, they can’t get it. You will though, and we hope you enjoy it.
Emile DeFelice of Caw Caw Creek Pastured Pork in St. Matthews is the current president of the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association.
Message from the President
April 2005
In 1995 four acres of rice were grown
for commercial production in the state of South Carolina . This
spring South Carolina will plant nearly 400 acres of rice for
commercial production—sixty of them will be Carolina Gold. When the
fields ripen to golden brilliance this August, they will provide a
stunning backdrop for the 2005 Carolina Gold Rice Symposium.
Registration for the Carolina Gold Rice Symposium—scheduled for August 18th, 19th and 20th in Charleston —begins May 1—just 18 months after our first CGRF meeting. The Planning Committee anticipates keen interest in the event—both in the US and beyond—and recommends early registration for those interested in attending. Here are a few reasons you’ll want to register immediately:
Carolina Gold Rice takes center stage in original presentations and discussions led by internationally respected culinary scholars, historians, scientists and heirloom agriculture experts. Framing these events, 35 of America ’s finest chefs and culinary historians will collaborate to serve fine foods and beverages inspired by Carolina Rice Kitchen cuisine, past and present. The event will host a Carolina Rice Bread Exposition; a colonial-era rice field lunch; tastings from the antebellum rice planter’s table; and a Lowcountry rare breeds rice pig BBQ—with all the fixin’s. For more information, please visit our website.
Planning for the Symposium is nearly complete. We wish to thank every member of the Planning Committee for his or her commitment of time and talent. We are confident the Symposium will be a smashing success.
Funding for the event, however, is still below our projected goal. Please call Dr. Merle Shepard or me at (843) 709-7399, or e-mail: officers@CarolinaGoldRiceFoundation.org to discuss support for the Symposium.
It is time for our foundation to look beyond the Symposium to future activities. Toward that end we have identified three important programs for future funding consideration: 1) the creation and continuing support of an electronic resource center and archive comprising a virtual collection of historic literature and reference works, public records and editorial content on historic heirloom grain foodways, agriculture and culture in our region; 2) funding, venue and professional support for the Southern Foodways Alliance Summer 2008 Rice Field Trip to Charleston, South Carolina; and 3) the creation of a memorial to Dr. HenryWoodward, legendary physician, planter and scholar credited with the introduction of a rice variety for breeding that became the world famous Carolina Gold. The CGRF Board of Directors and I ask you to reflect upon the importance of these programs and contribute generously to their development.
Glenn Roberts, President & CEO
Registration for the Carolina Gold Rice Symposium—scheduled for August 18th, 19th and 20th in Charleston —begins May 1—just 18 months after our first CGRF meeting. The Planning Committee anticipates keen interest in the event—both in the US and beyond—and recommends early registration for those interested in attending. Here are a few reasons you’ll want to register immediately:
Carolina Gold Rice takes center stage in original presentations and discussions led by internationally respected culinary scholars, historians, scientists and heirloom agriculture experts. Framing these events, 35 of America ’s finest chefs and culinary historians will collaborate to serve fine foods and beverages inspired by Carolina Rice Kitchen cuisine, past and present. The event will host a Carolina Rice Bread Exposition; a colonial-era rice field lunch; tastings from the antebellum rice planter’s table; and a Lowcountry rare breeds rice pig BBQ—with all the fixin’s. For more information, please visit our website.
Planning for the Symposium is nearly complete. We wish to thank every member of the Planning Committee for his or her commitment of time and talent. We are confident the Symposium will be a smashing success.
Funding for the event, however, is still below our projected goal. Please call Dr. Merle Shepard or me at (843) 709-7399, or e-mail: officers@CarolinaGoldRiceFoundation.org to discuss support for the Symposium.
It is time for our foundation to look beyond the Symposium to future activities. Toward that end we have identified three important programs for future funding consideration: 1) the creation and continuing support of an electronic resource center and archive comprising a virtual collection of historic literature and reference works, public records and editorial content on historic heirloom grain foodways, agriculture and culture in our region; 2) funding, venue and professional support for the Southern Foodways Alliance Summer 2008 Rice Field Trip to Charleston, South Carolina; and 3) the creation of a memorial to Dr. HenryWoodward, legendary physician, planter and scholar credited with the introduction of a rice variety for breeding that became the world famous Carolina Gold. The CGRF Board of Directors and I ask you to reflect upon the importance of these programs and contribute generously to their development.
Glenn Roberts, President & CEO
CGRF Mission featured on SCETV
Radio
April 2005
On Friday, 4 March 2005 , the history
of Carolina Gold Rice in the Lowcountry and the mission and
activities of the Carolina Gold Rice Foundation (CGRF) were
featured in a conversation for “Walter Edgar's Journal” on ETV
Radio. Dr. Edgar is the Director of the Institute for Southern
Studies at the University of South Carolina and hosts this weekly
radio program that explores the history of South Carolina and its
reflection in our contemporary world.
Dr. David S. Shields, McClintock Chair of Southern Letters at the University of South Carolina, and Glenn Roberts, President of CGRF and the proprietor of Anson Mills Worldwide Direct, joined Dr. Edgar for this in-studio discussion. Both Shields and Roberts are well versed in the history of the grain and the society that developed around the wealth driven by its production.
Chef Mike Lata of FIG Restaurant in Charleston joined the conversation via phone to discuss his uses of Carolina Gold Rice and other heirloom grains in a commercial setting.
To listen to the March 4 edition of the program, to purchase a copy of the conversation, or for more information on “Walter Edgar’s Journal,” please visit the SCETV website at: www.myetv.org/radio/programs/walter_edgars_journal
Dr. David S. Shields, McClintock Chair of Southern Letters at the University of South Carolina, and Glenn Roberts, President of CGRF and the proprietor of Anson Mills Worldwide Direct, joined Dr. Edgar for this in-studio discussion. Both Shields and Roberts are well versed in the history of the grain and the society that developed around the wealth driven by its production.
Chef Mike Lata of FIG Restaurant in Charleston joined the conversation via phone to discuss his uses of Carolina Gold Rice and other heirloom grains in a commercial setting.
To listen to the March 4 edition of the program, to purchase a copy of the conversation, or for more information on “Walter Edgar’s Journal,” please visit the SCETV website at: www.myetv.org/radio/programs/walter_edgars_journal
Noteworthy!
April 2005
The CGRF has been given the
following seed lots to be used for Symposium
funding:
Lot 1: 200 pounds of Virginia Crop Improvement Association Certified Foundation Pure Heirloom Red May Wheat (circa 1830).
Lot 2: 30 pounds of Certified Organic Heirloom Hand Select Trentino Spin Rosso della Valsugana Flint Corn Seed (open pollinated).
To bid, call (803) 467-4122 and state your name, phone number, lot number(s) and contribution amount(s).
Deadline: 20 April 2005
Emile DeFelice of Caw Caw Creek Pastured Pork in St. Matthews , SC , was featured on the cover of the food section of the Charleston Post & Courier on 19 January 2005 . Entitled “Hog Heaven: Midlands farmer goes against the grain by raising old-breed pigs in a free-range way,” the article focused on the benefits and trials of small-scale farming and “sustainable” agriculture. DeFelice is the state director of the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association.
The article, written by food editor Teresa Taylor, was accompanied by pictures of some of the rare breed pigs raised at Caw Caw Creek Pastured Pork, including a group of Ossabaw Island Iberian hogs. Five of these hogs are sponsored by the Carolina Gold Rice Foundation and are being fed the traditional Lowcountry diet of rice bran—a by-product of the milling process. Thanks to the generosity of Anson Mills, several of these specially produced hogs are on the menu for the Lowcountry BBQ of rare breeds of rice-fed poultry and pork at Middleton Place Plantation during the Carolina Gold Rice Symposium.
Plan your Charleston Visit for the Carolina Gold Rice Symposium Now!
Be sure to plan your visit to Charleston and reserve your spot at the Carolina Gold Rice Symposium as space will be limited and interest is high.
Several pre-conference tours and activities will be available to conference attendees, including:
Connoisseur Tour of a Rice Planter’s Home with Wine & Cheese Reception at the Edmonston-Alston House
Culinary Walking Tour with Amanda Dew Manning of Carolina Food Pros
Signature Series Tour on the Life Style of A Wealthy Rice Planter at the Charleston Museum ’s Joseph Manigault House
Culinary Focus Signature Series Tour of the Charleston Museum ’s Heyward-Washington House
Coach Tour focusing on Charleston ’s African Connections with Alphonso Brown, owner/operator of Gullah Tours
Separate fees apply to these pre-conference tours and registration is limited. Please consult website for full activity description and register for them with your regular symposium registration.
Registration
Registration for the Carolina Gold Rice Symposium will open, via post, on 1 May 2005 . The fee for the three (3) days of lectures, panels, and special food events is $350 per person. A special press rate of $275 will be offered for members of the legitimate press. The registration form is at the end of this newsletter and will be available on-line at the CGRF website: www.CarolinaGoldRiceFoundation.org
CGRF will also sponsor a limited number of symposium scholarships for students, public historians, and young professionals. Interested individuals should send letter of interest stating how attending the symposium will benefit their pursuits, a completed registration form, plus a resume or c.v. to:
Symposium Scholarship Committee
Carolina Gold Rice Foundation
2971 Doncaster Drive
Charleston , SC 29414
Deadline for scholarship application is 1 May 2005 . Scholarships do not apply to pre-conference tours.
Lodging and Local Accommodations
While most Symposium venues in the downtown area are within an easy walking distance for most people, bus transportation will be provided as necessary and for those who desire it. Transportation will also be provided to Symposium venues outside of downtown Charleston ( Middleton Place Plantation and Trident Technical College Main Campus). Please see map of venues and hotels on page 10 of this newsletter.
The following hotels have graciously offered a special rate for those attending the Carolina Gold Rice Symposium. Please mention that you will be attending when placing your reservation. More details are available on the Symposium website.
The Middleton Inn
4290 Ashley River Road , Hwy 61 @ Middleton Place
Nightly Room Rate: $159, $189, $300 (based on view) +tax; breakfast included
Phone: 843-556-0500 or 800-543-4774
Charleston Place
205 Meeting Street @ Market Street , downtown
Nightly Room Rate: $199+tax, preferred rate
Phone: 843-722-4900 or 800-611-5545
The DoubleTree Guest Suites
181 Church Street @ Market Street , downtown
Nightly Room Rates: $129+tax
Phone: 843-577-2644 or 877-408-8733
The Embassy Suites Historic Charleston
337 Meeting Street @ Marion Square , downtown
Nightly Room Rate: $149+tax; breakfast included
Phone: 843-723-6900 or 800-EMBASSY
The Hampton Inn Historic District
345 Meeting Street @ John Street , downtown
Nightly Room Rate: $129+tax; breakfast included
Phone: 843-723-4000 or 800-HAMPTON
The Planters Inn
112 N. Market Street @ Meeting Street , downtown
Nightly Room Rate: $195+tax, preferred rate
Phone: 843-722-2345 or 800-845-7082
See Symposium Program on page 6.
If you need assistance to plan your Charleston visit, the Charleston Convention and Visitors Bureau has information about local tours and attractions on-line at:www.CharlestonCVB.com.
Watch the CGRF website for dining recommendations.
Lot 1: 200 pounds of Virginia Crop Improvement Association Certified Foundation Pure Heirloom Red May Wheat (circa 1830).
Lot 2: 30 pounds of Certified Organic Heirloom Hand Select Trentino Spin Rosso della Valsugana Flint Corn Seed (open pollinated).
To bid, call (803) 467-4122 and state your name, phone number, lot number(s) and contribution amount(s).
Deadline: 20 April 2005
Emile DeFelice of Caw Caw Creek Pastured Pork in St. Matthews , SC , was featured on the cover of the food section of the Charleston Post & Courier on 19 January 2005 . Entitled “Hog Heaven: Midlands farmer goes against the grain by raising old-breed pigs in a free-range way,” the article focused on the benefits and trials of small-scale farming and “sustainable” agriculture. DeFelice is the state director of the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association.
The article, written by food editor Teresa Taylor, was accompanied by pictures of some of the rare breed pigs raised at Caw Caw Creek Pastured Pork, including a group of Ossabaw Island Iberian hogs. Five of these hogs are sponsored by the Carolina Gold Rice Foundation and are being fed the traditional Lowcountry diet of rice bran—a by-product of the milling process. Thanks to the generosity of Anson Mills, several of these specially produced hogs are on the menu for the Lowcountry BBQ of rare breeds of rice-fed poultry and pork at Middleton Place Plantation during the Carolina Gold Rice Symposium.
Plan your Charleston Visit for the Carolina Gold Rice Symposium Now!
Be sure to plan your visit to Charleston and reserve your spot at the Carolina Gold Rice Symposium as space will be limited and interest is high.
Several pre-conference tours and activities will be available to conference attendees, including:
Connoisseur Tour of a Rice Planter’s Home with Wine & Cheese Reception at the Edmonston-Alston House
Culinary Walking Tour with Amanda Dew Manning of Carolina Food Pros
Signature Series Tour on the Life Style of A Wealthy Rice Planter at the Charleston Museum ’s Joseph Manigault House
Culinary Focus Signature Series Tour of the Charleston Museum ’s Heyward-Washington House
Coach Tour focusing on Charleston ’s African Connections with Alphonso Brown, owner/operator of Gullah Tours
Separate fees apply to these pre-conference tours and registration is limited. Please consult website for full activity description and register for them with your regular symposium registration.
Registration
Registration for the Carolina Gold Rice Symposium will open, via post, on 1 May 2005 . The fee for the three (3) days of lectures, panels, and special food events is $350 per person. A special press rate of $275 will be offered for members of the legitimate press. The registration form is at the end of this newsletter and will be available on-line at the CGRF website: www.CarolinaGoldRiceFoundation.org
CGRF will also sponsor a limited number of symposium scholarships for students, public historians, and young professionals. Interested individuals should send letter of interest stating how attending the symposium will benefit their pursuits, a completed registration form, plus a resume or c.v. to:
Symposium Scholarship Committee
Carolina Gold Rice Foundation
2971 Doncaster Drive
Charleston , SC 29414
Deadline for scholarship application is 1 May 2005 . Scholarships do not apply to pre-conference tours.
Lodging and Local Accommodations
While most Symposium venues in the downtown area are within an easy walking distance for most people, bus transportation will be provided as necessary and for those who desire it. Transportation will also be provided to Symposium venues outside of downtown Charleston ( Middleton Place Plantation and Trident Technical College Main Campus). Please see map of venues and hotels on page 10 of this newsletter.
The following hotels have graciously offered a special rate for those attending the Carolina Gold Rice Symposium. Please mention that you will be attending when placing your reservation. More details are available on the Symposium website.
The Middleton Inn
4290 Ashley River Road , Hwy 61 @ Middleton Place
Nightly Room Rate: $159, $189, $300 (based on view) +tax; breakfast included
Phone: 843-556-0500 or 800-543-4774
Charleston Place
205 Meeting Street @ Market Street , downtown
Nightly Room Rate: $199+tax, preferred rate
Phone: 843-722-4900 or 800-611-5545
The DoubleTree Guest Suites
181 Church Street @ Market Street , downtown
Nightly Room Rates: $129+tax
Phone: 843-577-2644 or 877-408-8733
The Embassy Suites Historic Charleston
337 Meeting Street @ Marion Square , downtown
Nightly Room Rate: $149+tax; breakfast included
Phone: 843-723-6900 or 800-EMBASSY
The Hampton Inn Historic District
345 Meeting Street @ John Street , downtown
Nightly Room Rate: $129+tax; breakfast included
Phone: 843-723-4000 or 800-HAMPTON
The Planters Inn
112 N. Market Street @ Meeting Street , downtown
Nightly Room Rate: $195+tax, preferred rate
Phone: 843-722-2345 or 800-845-7082
See Symposium Program on page 6.
If you need assistance to plan your Charleston visit, the Charleston Convention and Visitors Bureau has information about local tours and attractions on-line at:www.CharlestonCVB.com.
Watch the CGRF website for dining recommendations.
Call for Papers
April 2005
The Carolina Gold Rice Foundation is
adding a Rice Bread Exposition to the Carolina Gold Rice Symposium
on 18-20 August 2005 in Charleston , SC. The conference organizers
invite papers on any aspect of the history or production of rice
bread. Papers presented will be considered for publication of the
symposium proceedings.
The deadline for proposals is 20 April 2005 . To submit a proposal, please send a 250-300 word abstract of your proposal and a short curriculum vitae or bio via email to Jane Aldrich at AldrichJane@aol.com (please note “Call for Papers” in subject line) or via post to:
Call for Papers
Carolina Gold Rice Foundation
2971 Doncaster Drive
Charleston , SC 29414
The deadline for proposals is 20 April 2005 . To submit a proposal, please send a 250-300 word abstract of your proposal and a short curriculum vitae or bio via email to Jane Aldrich at AldrichJane@aol.com (please note “Call for Papers” in subject line) or via post to:
Call for Papers
Carolina Gold Rice Foundation
2971 Doncaster Drive
Charleston , SC 29414
Message from the President
December 2004
The CGRF moved forward dramatically in
the last three months toward our goal to fully fund the 2005
Carolina Gold Rice Symposium by December 31, 2004, but challenges
remain. This issue of The Rice Paper thanks our major contributors
(see page 7, column 2) and details how contributions can be made.
We ask all our supporters to ask their friends and associates to
join us in this important work and contribute generously to the
CGRF. Here are a few reasons why:
The Carolina Gold Rice Foundation’s impact upon the public awareness of the importance of preservation of heirloom grains, their culture and historic foodways is truly astonishing as detailed in this Winter Issue of The Rice Paper. The content of this issue is sweeping in scope: an overview of the research involved in the development of a new rice variety whose breeding is based upon Carolina Gold Rice; a unique and heretofore unpublished account of the quality of and recipes for Carolina Rice Bread from early 19th century France; an account of one Northern Italian family’s long journey to rescue and repatriate the heritage grain of their region; news of the first ever availability of Texas Rice Improvement Association Certified Pure Carolina Gold Rice Foundation Seed; the announcement of our first public outreach event sponsored by the Carolina Lowcountry & Atlantic World Program (CLAW) at the College of Charleston; and much more.
Since the last issue of The Rice Paper, the CGRF garnered endorsements from the Southern Foodways Alliance and Slow Food USA. We are thrilled that Dr. Walter Edgar, internationally respected historian and Director, Center For Southern Studies, USC has offered to advocate for our Symposium. The CGRF welcomed with great excitement the generous support of our new partners: the Carolina Lowcountry & Atlantic World Program at the College of Charleston and the Department of Hospitality, Tourism and Culinary Arts at Trident Technical College who provide, respectively, venues for CGRF pre-Symposium public presentations and the 2005 Carolina Gold Rice Bread Competition. Nathalie Dupree, respected author, journalist and Southern Food personality is a welcome addition to the Symposium Planning Committee as our media relations contact and liaison to the Symposium’s public relations firm, Rawle Murdy Associates.
I want to thank the members of the Symposium Planning Committee for their diligence and continued enthusiasm in our quest for a world-class event in August 2005. I also wish the best of the holidays and the New Year to all our readers.
Glenn Roberts
President & CEO
The Carolina Gold Rice Foundation’s impact upon the public awareness of the importance of preservation of heirloom grains, their culture and historic foodways is truly astonishing as detailed in this Winter Issue of The Rice Paper. The content of this issue is sweeping in scope: an overview of the research involved in the development of a new rice variety whose breeding is based upon Carolina Gold Rice; a unique and heretofore unpublished account of the quality of and recipes for Carolina Rice Bread from early 19th century France; an account of one Northern Italian family’s long journey to rescue and repatriate the heritage grain of their region; news of the first ever availability of Texas Rice Improvement Association Certified Pure Carolina Gold Rice Foundation Seed; the announcement of our first public outreach event sponsored by the Carolina Lowcountry & Atlantic World Program (CLAW) at the College of Charleston; and much more.
Since the last issue of The Rice Paper, the CGRF garnered endorsements from the Southern Foodways Alliance and Slow Food USA. We are thrilled that Dr. Walter Edgar, internationally respected historian and Director, Center For Southern Studies, USC has offered to advocate for our Symposium. The CGRF welcomed with great excitement the generous support of our new partners: the Carolina Lowcountry & Atlantic World Program at the College of Charleston and the Department of Hospitality, Tourism and Culinary Arts at Trident Technical College who provide, respectively, venues for CGRF pre-Symposium public presentations and the 2005 Carolina Gold Rice Bread Competition. Nathalie Dupree, respected author, journalist and Southern Food personality is a welcome addition to the Symposium Planning Committee as our media relations contact and liaison to the Symposium’s public relations firm, Rawle Murdy Associates.
I want to thank the members of the Symposium Planning Committee for their diligence and continued enthusiasm in our quest for a world-class event in August 2005. I also wish the best of the holidays and the New Year to all our readers.
Glenn Roberts
President & CEO
Noteworthy!
December 2004
The CGRF has been given the
following seed lots to be used for Symposium
funding:
Lot 1: 200 pounds of Texas Rice Improvement Association Certified Foundation Pure Heirloom Carolina Gold Rice Seed.
Lot 2: 200 pounds of Virginia Crop Improvement Association Certified Foundation Pure Heirloom Red May Wheat (circa 1830).
Lot 3: 30 pounds of Certified Organic Heirloom Hand Select Trentino Spin Rosso della Valsugana Flint Corn Seed (open pollinated).
The Foundation will accept contribution bids from qualified growers interested in increasing this seed. Minimum bids for Lots 1 & 2: $800 each. Minimum bid for Lot 3: $500. The seed lots will go to the highest bidders.
To bid, call (843) 709-7399 and state your name, phone number, lot number(s) and contribution amount(s). Deadline: January 30, 2005.
Winners will be announced on February 17th at the CLAW event.
Dr. Richard Schulze and Dr. Richard Schulze, Jr., Savannah eye surgeons who both sit on the CGRF Board of Directors, were featured in a November newspaper article written by Michael R. Shea of The Beaufort Gazette. Running both in Beaufort paper and in the Charleston Post and Courier, the article chronicled this father and son’s journey to learn about, grow, and harvest the historically significant Carolina Gold Rice
Middleton Place Foundation was featured in a November article in the Charleston Post and Courier. Written by Deneshia Graham, the article described the themes of the special events that would take place during the annual “Plantation Days” at Middleton Place Plantation. Themes mentioned by Middleton Place representative Clint Noren included Lowcountry foodways, African American traditional arts, and the plantation’s natural environment.
The article included the comments of 2 tourists from Wisconsin who were surprised to learn that rice was grown in this country. During their tour they learned details of how rice, a labor-intensive crop, was planted and harvested in Charleston by enslaved Africans.
Lot 1: 200 pounds of Texas Rice Improvement Association Certified Foundation Pure Heirloom Carolina Gold Rice Seed.
Lot 2: 200 pounds of Virginia Crop Improvement Association Certified Foundation Pure Heirloom Red May Wheat (circa 1830).
Lot 3: 30 pounds of Certified Organic Heirloom Hand Select Trentino Spin Rosso della Valsugana Flint Corn Seed (open pollinated).
The Foundation will accept contribution bids from qualified growers interested in increasing this seed. Minimum bids for Lots 1 & 2: $800 each. Minimum bid for Lot 3: $500. The seed lots will go to the highest bidders.
To bid, call (843) 709-7399 and state your name, phone number, lot number(s) and contribution amount(s). Deadline: January 30, 2005.
Winners will be announced on February 17th at the CLAW event.
Dr. Richard Schulze and Dr. Richard Schulze, Jr., Savannah eye surgeons who both sit on the CGRF Board of Directors, were featured in a November newspaper article written by Michael R. Shea of The Beaufort Gazette. Running both in Beaufort paper and in the Charleston Post and Courier, the article chronicled this father and son’s journey to learn about, grow, and harvest the historically significant Carolina Gold Rice
Middleton Place Foundation was featured in a November article in the Charleston Post and Courier. Written by Deneshia Graham, the article described the themes of the special events that would take place during the annual “Plantation Days” at Middleton Place Plantation. Themes mentioned by Middleton Place representative Clint Noren included Lowcountry foodways, African American traditional arts, and the plantation’s natural environment.
The article included the comments of 2 tourists from Wisconsin who were surprised to learn that rice was grown in this country. During their tour they learned details of how rice, a labor-intensive crop, was planted and harvested in Charleston by enslaved Africans.
Message from the President
June 2004
The Carolina Gold Rice Foundation
(CGRF) is pleased to share with you our first issue of The Rice
Paper, a quarterly newsletter dedicated to historic heirloom grain
horticulture, related foodways and culture.
The CGRF (founded in March 2004 as a 501 (C) (3) not for profit corporation) was a natural outgrowth of the Carolina Gold Rice Symposium Planning Committee Dr. Merle Shepard organized last fall, bringing together rice planters, agriculturalists, cultural historians, culinary professionals and scholars. In the short time since its inception, the CGRF has embarked upon a number of wide ranging projects.
So far we have:
The flow of creative ideas and the CGRF’s ability to transform these ideas to reality continues unabated.
I would like to thank everyone involved with the CGRF for their creative and financial support and to invite those new to our endeavor to support the CGRF, and experience the thrill of cultural discovery.
Glenn Roberts
President & CEO
The CGRF (founded in March 2004 as a 501 (C) (3) not for profit corporation) was a natural outgrowth of the Carolina Gold Rice Symposium Planning Committee Dr. Merle Shepard organized last fall, bringing together rice planters, agriculturalists, cultural historians, culinary professionals and scholars. In the short time since its inception, the CGRF has embarked upon a number of wide ranging projects.
So far we have:
- created the Symposium program and raised 50% of the funding required for its presentation;
- formed strategic partnerships with Clemson University, Middleton Place Foundation, the Carolina Lowcountry and Atlantic World Program at the College of Charleston, the Charleston and Gibbes Museums, and others;
- begun a 5-acre study of Carolina Gold Rice (CGR) production near Edisto Island using non-invasive, sustainable agricultural management;
- presented our first regional heirloom grain management seminar in Savannah;
- established a worldwide Heirloom Grain Research and Education Network linking entities such as the Asia Rice Foundation with the CGRF.;
The flow of creative ideas and the CGRF’s ability to transform these ideas to reality continues unabated.
I would like to thank everyone involved with the CGRF for their creative and financial support and to invite those new to our endeavor to support the CGRF, and experience the thrill of cultural discovery.
Glenn Roberts
President & CEO
Carolina Gold Rice Returns to
Middleton Place Plantation
June 2004
After 170 years Carolina Gold has
returned to Middleton Place and is being grown in a quarter acre
demonstration field on the Ashley River. Middleton Place is the
only public site in which visitors can see rice growing in an
authentic setting. Using seeds from last year’s crop, the field was
planted by a crew of staff and volunteers on April 30. Fresh water
from the Rice Mill Pond is used to flood the rice field because the
river water is too high in salinity. We believe this is the same
method of flooding practiced on the Middleton Place fields during
the 18th and 19th centuries.
The field and its growing crop expands the Foundation’s ability to interpret rice cultivation and plantation slave culture, and lends an extra dimension of meaning to self-guided tours of the Gardens and to the structured African American Focus Tour. Two illustrated panels adjacent to the field describe the labor-intensive growing process, and an observation platform provides a near ground level perspective for visitors to experience being surrounded by rice.
Re-establishing the Rice Field’s viability as part of the historical agricultural operation of Middleton Place has enhanced the plantation experience for everyone. With some help from Mother Nature and careful attention by Foundation staff, enough rice will be saved from hungry birds to provide seed for next year’s crop.
The field and its growing crop expands the Foundation’s ability to interpret rice cultivation and plantation slave culture, and lends an extra dimension of meaning to self-guided tours of the Gardens and to the structured African American Focus Tour. Two illustrated panels adjacent to the field describe the labor-intensive growing process, and an observation platform provides a near ground level perspective for visitors to experience being surrounded by rice.
Re-establishing the Rice Field’s viability as part of the historical agricultural operation of Middleton Place has enhanced the plantation experience for everyone. With some help from Mother Nature and careful attention by Foundation staff, enough rice will be saved from hungry birds to provide seed for next year’s crop.