What is Dishing Up The South?
Southern food is more than a collection of recipes. It is a living record of the people, places and traditions that have made the South, well … the South. Every dish carries something with it. Stories of migration and memory, of geography and ingenuity. And of traditions connecting deeply to the food people continue to cook and share today. Dishing Up The South takes you beyond the kitchen to discover those stories, the places they come from and the people and communities who keep them alive.
How The Series Works
Dishing Up The South begins with a dish and lets the food lead us somewhere unexpected. Each episode opens in Bluffton, South Carolina, where our three chefs gather around a table and discover the dish that will send one of them on the road, traveling across the South to the place where its story lives.
Once there, we discover the personality of a Southern community. We dig into its fascinating past, explore what draws people there and meet the people who give it character. We visit kitchens and markets, farms and fishing boats, museums and family tables. And, of course, we eat, seeking out the food where it is best known, meeting those who still make it and discovering what it means to the place that calls it its own.
What we discover eventually comes home to Bluffton and the Culinary Institute of the South. There, all three chefs work alongside culinary students to create their own interpretations before gathering around the table once again to taste, share and reflect. The food provides the payoff, but the real reward is everything we discovered along the way.
We begin with a dish. We end with a better understanding of a place, and another piece of the story of the South.
Proof of Concept
This proof of concept follows our three chefs as they explore Country Captain, a dish with a surprising connection to Savannah, Georgia, demonstrating how food can open the door to a larger story of place, history, ingredients and community.
The film is intended to demonstrate the tone, visual approach and storytelling engine of Dishing Up The South. It is a proof of concept, not a finished broadcast episode.
Meet The Host Chefs
Chef Leslie Rohland is a chef, restaurateur and owner of The Cottage Café, Bakery & Tea Room in Bluffton, South Carolina. A 2024 South Carolina Chef Ambassador, Leslie brings deep ties to the state’s food and hospitality community, along with the warmth, curiosity and experience that make her a natural guide for Dishing Up The South.
Chef Bernard Bennett is a chef and restaurateur whose cooking explores the connections among West African, Caribbean and Southern cuisines. Executive Chef of Okan in Bluffton and a James Beard Foundation Best Chef: Southeast semifinalist, Bernard brings a perspective shaped by history, culture and the influences that have helped define Southern food.
Chef Jacqueline Orak is Dean of the Culinary Institute of the South at the Technical College of the Lowcountry in Bluffton. A chef and culinary educator, Jacqueline connects the traditions explored by Dishing Up The South with the next generation of culinary professionals, bringing an educator’s perspective and a natural curiosity to the journey.
CHEF BERNARD BENNETT
CHEF LESLIE ROHLAND
CHEF JACQUELINE ORAK
Food For The Soul
Food For The Soul is an important part of every Dishing Up The South episode. As our journey takes us into Southern communities to discover the stories behind their food, we also search for an authentic way into the stories of people and organizations using food to make a difference in the lives of others.
From addressing hunger and food access to supporting nutrition, agriculture, education and neighbors in need, we look for the natural connection that allows Food For The Soul to become part of the larger story we are already telling. It reflects the producers’ commitment to shine a light on those working every day to make their communities better.
Partner With Dishing Up The South
Dishing Up The South is building a coordinated underwriting campaign informed by extensive market research across the South. We are seeking national and multi-state partners, state and regional underwriters, and local partners connected to the communities and stories explored in individual episodes. Our goal is to build relationships with organizations whose interests naturally align with food, travel, agriculture, hospitality, education, culture and the communities of the South.
As a program being developed for public television, Dishing Up The South maintains a clear line between underwriting and editorial storytelling. Underwriting does not purchase inclusion in an episode, product placement, favorable coverage or influence over the story. The story may create the funding doorway. Funding never creates the story.
Dishing Up The South is also seeking an appropriate nonprofit fiscal partnership to expand the charitable, foundation and grant funding opportunities available to the series.
Contact Dishing Up The South
Robert Manning
Executive Producer / Director
GENERAL INQUIRIES
Robin Manning
Producer
[email protected]
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UNDERWRITING PARTNERSHIPS
[email protected]
Whether you’re interested in the series, public television, production, community partnerships or simply want to learn more about Dishing Up The South, we'd love to hear from you.