About Us

We love American food.

We read about it, talk about it, think about it, write about it chilibakeoff (sometimes even for money) and argue about it. But, most of all, we like to eat it. And since we assume you feel the same way, we created The American Table Culinary Tours. The American Table Culinary Tours' 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.

What we do

No advances in refrigeration can supplant the sensation of sucking down oysters just plucked from the bay or sweating fire from every pore while inhaling a bowl of jalapeno-spiked chili at a Texas county fair. There is no substitute for eating in situ.

marthas Our three-day interactive tours chase America's signature dishes across the map, stalking the best expositions of the land's bounty from church basements and home kitchens to humble roadside cafes and white-tableclothed bistros. Every tour features commentary from respected scholars and hands-on workshops. We aim to craft tours which are fun, convivial, educational and inspirational.

How we got started

As a sometime event planner, director Hanna Raskin managed to cajole the Southern Foodways Alliance, a non-profit affiliate of the University of Mississippi, into taking her on as a consultant. As the group's "field trip maven," she conceptualized and coordinated a tour of Florida's Forgotten Coast.

Based upon a positive experience, SFA invited Hanna to start her own tour company, using the group's vast library of oral histories to guide her itineraries. While we range far beyond the Southeast, we rely on the stories collected by the Southern Foodways Alliance to inspire our tours of the region. A portion of the profits from any SFA-linked tour are donated to the group.

To stay abreast of SFA's worthwhile activites, point your browser to www.southernfoodways.com.

Why we're a non-profit

beans There are agencies aplently dedicated to to the performing and visual arts. But our native culinary artists get short shrift. We're here to do what we can to turn that trend around by supporting artists with edible visions, from the fellow who fries the finest catfish in the Mississippi Delta to the Maine farmer whose blueberries are always just a mite jucier than everyone else's.

The American Table Culinary Tours is in the process of securing its 501(c)(3) status from the IRS. Watch this page for updates.

Images: Carl Fleischauer's Cooking Hamburger Meat and Beans [35mm slide], Paradise Valley, Nev. June 18, 1978; Martha Cooper's Nicholas Diner. Paterson, N.J. 1994; Carl Fleischauer's Chili Beans, Paradise Valley, Nev. 1978; all from the Library of Congress.