John T. Edge (born December 22, 1962) is a writer, commentator, and, since its founding in 1999, director of the Southern Foodways Alliance, an institute of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment. ...

. He has written several books on Southern food. He contributes to the ''

Oxford American The ''Oxford American'' is a quarterly magazine that focuses on the American South. First publication The magazine was begun in late 1989 in Oxford, Mississippi, by Marc Smirnoff (born July 11, 1963). The name "Oxford American" is a play on ''T ...

'' and the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', and has written for '' Garden & Gun'' and '' Afar''. In 2017, he published ''The Potlikker Papers'', a personal history of Southern food.

Education

John T. received his undergraduate degree from the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

. Edge holds a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in Southern Studies from the University of Mississippi and an MFA in Creative Non-Fiction from

Goucher College Goucher College ( ') is a private liberal arts college in Towson, Maryland. It was chartered in 1885 by a conference in Baltimore led by namesake John F. Goucher and local leaders of the Methodist Episcopal Church.https://archive.org/details ...

Southern Foodways Alliance

In 1999, Edge co-founded and became the director of the Southern Foodways Alliance, an institute of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the

. Every October, the Southern Foodways Alliance sponsors a symposium in

Oxford, Mississippi Oxford is a city and college town in the U.S. state of Mississippi. Oxford lies 75 miles (121 km) south-southeast of Memphis, Tennessee, and is the county seat of Lafayette County. Founded in 1837, it was named after the British city of O ...

, on American southern cuisine. Edge is one of the primary organizers and the master of ceremonies for the many events, which attract several hundred attendees. The SFA also engages in oral history work, makes films, and stages other events.

Media

Edge has authored numerous books detailing how America eats, including, ''Fried Chicken: An American Story'', ''Apple Pie: An American Story'', ''Southern Belly'', and ''The Truck Food Cookbook''. Edge has been a regular contributor for the weekend edition of

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

's ''

All Things Considered ''All Things Considered'' (''ATC'') is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio (NPR). It was the first news program on NPR, premiering on May 3, 1971. It is broadcast live on NPR affiliated stations in the United ...

'' and has appeared on various television shows including ''

CBS Sunday Morning ''CBS News Sunday Morning'' (normally shortened to ''Sunday Morning'' on the program itself since 2009) is an American news magazine television program that has aired on CBS since January 28, 1979. Created by Robert Northshield and original ho ...

'' and ''

Iron Chef is a Japanese television cooking show produced by Fuji Television. The series, which premiered on October 10, 1993, was a stylized cook-off featuring guest chefs challenging one of the show's resident "Iron Chefs" in a timed cooking battle bu ...

''. In 2012, he won the MFK Fisher Distinguished Writing Award from the

James Beard Foundation The James Beard Foundation is a New York City-based national non-profit culinary arts organization named in honor of James Beard, a prolific food writer, teacher, and cookbook author, who was also known as the "Dean of American Cookery." The prog ...

. His work has also been featured in 10 editions of the ''Best Food Writing Anthology.''
Hosts the SEC Network / ESPN television show TrueSouth. Host of the SFA podcast "Gravy," along with Melissa Hall.

Personal life

Edge was born in the rural community of Clinton, in

Jones County, Georgia Jones County is a county in the central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 28,347. The county seat is Gray. The county was created on December 10, 1807, and named after U.S. Representative James J ...

. He lives in

, with his wife, Blair Hobbs, a painter, writer, and teacher. They have one son, Jess.

Publications

* Edge, John T. ''The Potlikker Papers: A Food History of the Modern South''. Penguin Press, 2017. * Edge, John T. ''The Truck Food Cookbook: 150 Recipes and Ramblings from America's Best Restaurants on Wheels''. Workman, 2012. * Edge, John T. and Roahen, Sara, editors. ''The Southern Foodways Alliance Community Cookbook''. UGA Press, 2010. * Edge, John T. ''Southern Belly: The Ultimate Food Lovers Companion to the American South''. 2012. . * Edge, John T. ''Donuts: An American Passion''. Putnam Adult, 2006. . * Edge, John T. ''Hamburgers and Fries: An American Story''. Thorndike Press, 2005. . * Edge, John T. ''Fried Chicken: An American Story''. Putnam Adult, 2004. . * Edge, John T. ''Apple Pie: An American Story''. Putnam Adult, 2004. . * Edge, John T. and Hobbs, Blair. ''Southern Belly: The Ultimate Food Lover's Guide to the South.'' Hill Street Press, 2002. . * Edge, John T. ''A Gracious Plenty''. HP Trade, 2002.

References

External links

''Financial Times '' Top Twenty Southerners to Watch
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edge, John T. Living people American food writers People from Oxford, Mississippi University of Mississippi faculty 1962 births