Culinary and literary come together

From the The Brunswick News

Although Daisy King is living in the city of Nashville these days, she often finds herself thinking of her home state of Georgia. That's true for both the scenery and the trademark cuisine.

King, who is from Buford, is now a restaurateur and cookbook author. As such, she often finds herself visiting around the state and becoming a frequent visitor of places like the Golden Isles.

"I always look forward to coming to Jekyll and St. Simons islands with all the scenic landscape, rich Southern history and the fine foods of the region," King said.

"There is just such nostalgia and history. It's also beautiful. Never take having Jekyll Island and St. Simons Island for granted."

King has made the most of every moment she's spent in the area. While here, she made a point to record and categorize various recipes that are staples at local eateries. She later parlayed these into two books - "Meet Me on St. Simons Island" and "Meet Me on Jekyll Island."

"I'm very proud of my two cookbooks that are dedicated to these landmarks. They are more than just cookbooks. Through photos and words, we try to capture all that is special to the area," she said.

Naturally, food plays a big part in the appeal. And to create her book, she talked to many who were familiar with the unique tastes of the Isles.

"I spoke with restaurant owners and chefs on St. Simons Island and Jekyll. I used their recipes and incorporated some of mine as well. There are about 40 to 50 recipes (in each book)," she said.

It won't be long before King is back on the sandy shores of the coast that she's come to know so well.

At 6 p.m. Thursday, she will make an appearance to discuss her cookbooks at the Coastal Georgia Historical Society on St. Simons Island. She'll follow that up by hosting a tea at the Jekyll Island Club Hotel as an extension of the highly-anticipated Georgia Literary Festival Nov. 9.

"Chef Abigail Hutcheson at the Jekyll Island Club Hotel is spearheading this tea and asked me to host it," she said. "We will have all kinds of great food and teas."

King's tea is just one element of the culinary track of the Literary Festival. There are plenty of others. Three other food experts-turned-authors will make appearances. Savannah-based Damon Lee Fowler, a culinary historian, writer and cooking teacher, will host an exhibition on classical Southern cooking. Kitchen divas Nathalie Dupree and Cynthia Graubart will also stop-in.

For her part, organizer Patty Henning, director of sales and marketing for the Jekyll Island Club Hotel, says she is looking forward to seeing these popular chefs come together.

"These authors and chefs are so talented. People are going to love hearing what they say about Southern cooking and even enjoy tasting their recipes by joining us at one of the sessions at the hotel. We have been extremely lucky to get these authors here on Jekyll Island for this festival. They love what they do and they want to share it with public," she said.

There will be plenty of sharing going on. Check out this round-up of food-centric fun:

• Tea with Miss Daisy King will be held at 4 p.m. Nov. 9 at the Jekyll Island Club Hotel's Grand Dining Room. Guests can sample sweet potato and bourbon soup, assorted tea sandwiches such as smoked turkey with sherried Vidalia onions, scones with the classic accompaniments and tea pastries. Tickets are $25 and must be purchased by Wednesday. For reservations, call the Jekyll Island Club Hotel at 635-2600 or visit www.jekyllisland.com.
• Chef Joe Randall will hold a demonstration from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Nov. 10 at the Jekyll Island Club Hotel's Morgan Center on Jekyll Island. He'll demonstrate the preparation of what guests will be eating - crab and corn chowder, Southern fried quail with wild mushroom sauce on Savannah red rice, and lemon pound cake with fresh berries. He will also be autographing copies of his cookbook purchased at the event. It's $30 per person. Reservations must be made through the hotel. They may be made by calling 625-2600 or by visiting www.jekyllisland.com.
• A wine dinner with Chef Hugh Acheson and wine columnist Jane Garvey will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Nov. 10 at the Morgan Center on Jekyll Island. Tickets are $100 per person. Reservations may be made by calling the hotel at 635-2600 or by visiting www.jekyllisland.com.

Learn more

The Georgia Literary Festival is sponsored annually by the Georgia Center for the Book with support of the Georgia Humanities Council. The College of Coastal Georgia, the Jekyll Island Authority and the Golden Isles Convention and Visitors Bureau are the hosts for this year's event.

All of sessions Nov. 10, which showcases the talents of Damon Lee Fowler and the duet of Nathalie Dupree and Cynthia Graubart, are free and open to the public. They will be held at the Jekyll Island Convention Center

A full schedule of Literary Festival activities, including program times and links for tickets to the special culinary events, is available at www.GoldenIslesLiteraryFestival.com.

###