
On my book tour/quest to spread Gumbo Love all over this world, I have time and time again been on the receiving end of what we like to call Southern hospitality—even in places as far from the South as the busy streets of Chicago and New York. I have met so many friendly folks who treated me kindly, who hugged me and fed me and asked me about my book.
I can’t deny that for most Southerners dishing out hospitality is as natural as handing out bowls of gumbo, but Southern hospitality is truly a state of mind more than a regional quality, and anyone can cultivate it.
If you find yourself looking for ways to share food and love rather than store it away, and if you look to welcome those around you rather than shut them out, it doesn’t matter where you come from or whether or not you know how to fry chicken: you’re built for Southern hospitality.
And the best way to develop your hospitality is to take that state of mind and put it into action! That’s where food can go a long way. Even if you’re not a talkative person (I’m told they exist!), 99.999 percent of the people I’ve come into contact with speak the language of food.
It is absolutely amazing to witness the power of food cut through tension in a room or get complete strangers talking. Even in my own family, those little details that sometimes feel like personal “differences” simply fade away when we’re sharing food and our love of food. There’s a reason why family reunions are so often potluck affairs. Those long tables overflowing with food are overflowing with all the love and energy that every person put into every dish. I can’t think of anything better to gather around.
So if you don’t think of yourself as possessing a natural genetic or geographic disposition for Southern hospitality, or if you do possess it but it’s a little rusty and you need some practice, start with FOOD.
Pimento cheese with crackers is perfect for sharing. A bowl of my mother’s West Indies Salad in the middle of the room is a people magnet. An offering of home-roasted pecans makes an unexpected guest feel absolutely welcome.
What is your favorite dish for showing your Southern hospitality?