Up and down the Arkansas Delta, food tells a story. Whether the time Bill Clinton nearly died on the way to a coon dinner or the connections made over biscuits and gravy or the more common chicken and dumpling feuds, the area is no stranger to history. One of America's last frontiers, it was settled in the late nineteenth century by a rough-and-tumble collection of timber men, sharecroppers and entrepreneurs from all over the world who embraced the traditional foodways and added their own twists. Today, the Arkansas Delta is the nation's largest producer of rice and adds other crops like catfish and sweet potatoes. Join author Cindy Grisham for this delicious look into Delta cuisine.
Dr. Cindy Grisham is a historian living in Benton, Arkansas, and is the former interpreter for the Southern Tenant Farmers Museum and the Parkin Archeological State Park. A native of the Missouri Ozarks, Dr. Grisham earned an MA and PhD in Heritage Studies from Arkansas State, as well as an additional MA in political science.