Foodways Texas, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving, promoting and honoring the Lone Star State’s unique food cultures, will host its third annual Foodways Texas Symposium April 4-6, on and near the campus of The University of Texas at Austin. Foodways Texas is affiliated with the university’s Division of Diversity and Community Engagement.
“Our Barbecue, Ourselves” will explore the past, present and potential of smoked meat in Texas and its intimate connections to Texas cultural history and identity. As we feast on plates from across the state, we’ll consider what we can learn from barbecue as both meal and process. What can the meat and the dishes served alongside it tell us about our history? How have traditions and techniques from diverse heritages intersected to create today’s Texas barbecue? What does it mean for Texans that they are represented by barbecue worldwide, and how does Texas fit in with national and international barbecue traditions and trends? How is the way we consume barbecue and barbecue culture being affected by changing technologies and food ideologies? Join us as we eat, think and talk our way from pasture to pit to plate.
Registration includes lunch and dinner on Friday and Saturday as well as a welcome dinner on Thursday night.
Texans and food enthusiasts from across the country wishing to attend the Foodways Texas Symposium may purchase tickets and find hotel recommendations at www.foodwaystexas.com. Tickets for the symposium are $250 (member), $280 (general public). Tickets are limited.
Pit masters and chefs for the weekend include the following:
Aaron Franklin, Franklin’s Barbecue, Austin
Bryan Caswell, Reef, Houston
David Uyger, Lucia, Dallas
Greg Gatlin, Gatlin’s BBQ, Houston
Hugo Ortega, Hugo’s, Houston
Jesse Griffiths, Dai Due, Austin
Justin Fourton, Pecan Lodge, Dallas
Levi Goode, Goode Company, Houston
Patrick Martin, Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint, Nolensville, Tenn.
Speakers include the following:
John T. Edge, Southern Foodways Alliance, Oxford, Miss.
Bryan Bracewell, Southside Market and Barbeque, Elgin, Texas
Daniel Delaney, BrisketTown, New York
Daniel Vaughn, BBQ Snob, Dallas
Jason Mellard, Texas State University, San Marcos
Jody Horton, photographer, Austin
Joe Nick Patoski, author, Wimberley, Texas
Robb Walsh, Houstonia Magazine, Houston
Tim Byres, Smoke Restaurant, Dallas
Toni Tipton-Martin, The Jemima Code, Austin
About Foodways Texas
Foodways Texas was formed in July 2010 in College Station, Texas, by a group of restaurateurs, chefs, food writers, farmers, cattle ranchers, historians, microbrewers and scholars who share a passion for Texas culinary history and foods. Modeled after the Southern Foodways Alliance, Foodways Texas’ mission is to preserve, promote and celebrate the diverse food cultures of Texas. Foodways Texas is affiliated with the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement at The University of Texas at Austin.
Foodways Texas is currently collecting and archiving the stories behind Texas foods and foodways across the Lone Star State through documentary film and oral history programs. Among its programs, Foodways Texas holds an annual Barbecue Summer Camp in conjunction with the Texas AandM Meat Science Center in College Station.
