Susannah Felts

July 18, 2011 For Jeni Britton Bauer, the creative force behind Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams, butterfat is a blank canvas on which to explore a palette of exotic, tantalizing flavors: Salty Caramel, Wildberry Lavender, Cherry Lambic, Bangkok Peanut (cayenne pepper, coconut, honey, and peanut-butter ice cream). Her first store outside of her home state of Ohio opened in Nashville a few weeks ago, coinciding with the publication of her first cookbook, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams At Home. The book, which has made The New York Times bestseller list, explains how to make foolproof versions of Jeni’s fabulous flavors at home. It also reveals a business firmly in step with current food trends: artisanal production and locally sourced, farm-fresh ingredients. Bauer will demonstrate recipes and sign copies of Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home at Williams-Sonoma in the Mall at Green Hills in Nashville on Thursday, July 21, at 3 p.m.

June 2, 2011 Once upon a time, the humble strip of bacon had yet to become a culinary fetish object, and mac and cheese was simply a side item on the meat-and-three menu, not a concept for modish urban restaurants. Then a young man named John T. Edge began to roam the back roads of the American South in search of good, authentic meals. His journeys mark a stirring new chapter in the evolution of Southern food culture, as Edge has helped to inspire a renaissance in Southern food—its celebration and documentation, its public perception, its dreams for the future. Edge spoke by phone with Chapter 16 before heading to Tennessee to moderate the shrimp-and-grits cookoff at Savor Nashville on June 5 from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Hutton Hotel.