I was recently contacted by Hanna of the American Table Culinary Tours about their September 2007 tour of Memphis Barbecue. 

I corresponded with Hanna about the American Table Culinary Tours is a nonprofit company that wants to promote culinary history.  Their goal is to work with culinary students for internships and to simply promote cooking history.

So if you’re up for what looks to be an incredible weekend of barbecue, look into the tour of West Tennessee.  Here are some particulars:

The American Table has opened registration for its Sept.13-15, 2007 tour “Pigging Out and About,” a celebration of – and inquiry into – the region’s spectacular take on sauced swine.  Tour participants will sample the best barbecue in Memphis; learn how to grade a plate of pork from expert judges at the Memphis Barbecue Association and venture deep into rural Tennessee to learn the secrets of whole hog barbecue from the sawmill operators, slaughterhouse managers and dedicated pitmasters who have preserved the craft. Escorts for our ‘cue journey include Times-Picayune columnist Lolis Eric Elie, author of Smokestack Lightning: Adventures in Barbecue Country and Joe York, the first filmmaker to visually document the whole hog tradition.

Not only will you get an incredible weekend seeing more about barbecue
than you every could on your own, when you’re finished, you’ll be
certified to judge Memphis in May competitions!

More on the American Table Culinary Tours:

The American Table Culinary Tours offers multi-day tours throughout the United States, plumbing its kitchens, cafes and other eating places for remarkable food and unique cultural insight. Its mission is to celebrate our nation’s diverse vernacular foodways by facilitating meaningful experiences for adventurous eaters and supporting the hard-working folks behind the counters and over the stoves who make them possible.

It’s really great to see a company like this that’s in it for the love
of food over the love of money!  I, for one, am going to be watching
their offerings, as the price is good, and the areas they cover should
only get more and more diverse as they grow.

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