Chef and Farmer Matthew Raiford: Embodying the Diversity of Coastal Georgia's Cuisine

Chef and Farmer Matthew Raiford: Embodying the Diversity of Coastal Georgia’s Cuisine

by LeeAnna Tatum

Though not what most people typically think of when they think of Southern cuisine, Matthew Raiford’s cooking is, in fact, a reflection of Coastal Georgia’s diversity of culinary influences and the vast array of foods that are grown, raised, foraged, hunted and fished for here in Southeast Georgia.

Matthew grew up in the kitchens of generations of cooks in his family: his mother, aunts, grandmothers and even his great grandmother. Living on his mother’s family farm, Matthew also grew up deeply rooted in the land and waterways of his ancestors and was always closely connected to his food sources.

From his earliest memories of foraging for wild blackberries around the farm to his first job working in the deli/bakery at the local Piggly Wiggly, Matthew was always interested in food. But his path to a culinary career was not certain from the start.

“My dad was a baker by trade in the early 50s and 60s and I really wanted to go into cooking right out of high school,” Matthew recalled. “But my dad was like, ‘that ain’t a place for you son’.”

Matthew explained that while his dad was an accomplished professional baker, as a Black man during that time - the kitchen was not a place where he could get ahead. In fact, when the family had returned to Georgia in the 70s, his father was unable to get a job as a baker due to his race, despite his expertise.

Discouraged from pursuing a culinary career but eager to leave the farm, Matthew joined the military and spent time overseas in Germany and the Middle East. During that time, Matthew sought out new culinary experiences and was exposed to new flavors and cooking techniques. He also enjoyed cooking meals for his fellow servicemen and women who were hungry for some homecooked comfort foods.

Even after leaving the military and pursuing an education, Matthew couldn’t get over his desire to cook. So, he eventually ended up in culinary school and hasn’t looked back since.

This month, Matthew’s first cookbook is hitting the shelves. Bress ‘N’ Nyam: Gullah Geechee Recipes from a Sixth-Generation Farmer weaves together recipes and stories drawn from Matthew’s lifetime of culinary experiences.

Matthew Raiford serving up some Gilliard Farms Lowcountry Boil.

Photography excerpted from Bress ‘n’ Nyam: Gullah Geechee Recipes from a Sixth-Generation Farmer. Copyright © 2021 CheFarmer Matthew Raiford and Amy Paige Condon. Photography © 2021 by Siobhán Egan. Reproduced by permission of The Countryman Press, a Division of W.W. Norton & Company. All rights reserved.

“I wanted to write a cookbook that was indicative of ... Coastal Georgia,” Matthew said. “Because there aren’t a lot of cookbooks written about Coastal Georgia or the agriculture that comes off of Coastal Georgia … And if there is, it’s really seafood heavy and that’s about it.”

“I just wanted to cover the farming and how I grew up here Gullah Geechee and how it has shaped my tastebuds for food,” Matthew continued. “Those are some of the most exciting things about doing the book. And having the name Bress ‘N’ Nyam which means ‘bless and eat’ in Gullah Geechee just meant everything to me.”

Matthew’s Gullah Geechee heritage is important to him as an adult but as a child, the language and culture was just something ingrained in his daily life.

“I was always considered a freshwater Geechee because I lived on the mainland, I didn’t live on the islands at all,” Matthew explained. “But it’s interesting listening to my family talk now and realizing that some of those words that were being used were part of that dialect.”

“Even using the calling through the woods which is what Nana, my great grandmother … it’s what everybody would do,” he continued. “They’d call you through the woods. Instead of just hollering your name it would be sung almost and it would carry through the woods. You’d hear it and know that it was time to go back home.”

“A lot of those habits and ways and even the way we grow food here has always been part of that culture, which is my culture.”

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One of the most important things that Matthew hopes readers will take away from his book is that Southern food is much more complex and varied than how it’s usually portrayed.

“Southern food is a lot more than just shrimp and grits and collard greens… there’s this massive amount of other things in there,” Matthew asserted. “The first time I fried chicken for an event, I actually had to have someone show me how to fry chicken. I understood the battering and frying part, but I didn’t get how it was supposed to have any flavor with being marinated for a day or two. I was like, I didn’t grow up eating it like that.”

On the farm, chickens were kept for their eggs - so, cooking fried chicken was a very rare thing. When it was done, the meat was from an older bird and needed to be tenderized with a marinade. Matthew included a recipe for his Two-Day Fried Chicken. Dispelling the myth that all greens have to be cooked with meat, Matthew’s recipe for Mess O’ Greens (on page 56) “ain’t got no meat in it!”

Dispelling the myth that all Southern greens have to be cooked with meat, Matthew's recipe for Mess 'O Greens "ain't got no meat in it!"

Also contrary to some Southern stereotypes, the cookbook is filled with veggie-centric recipes.

“There are a ton of vegetable recipes in there and that’s not normally what people think of with Southern … when they think of that they think of sides - but I make these the star!”

“One of my running jokes,” Matthew continued, “I have my recipe for Mess of Greens in there - and there’s no meat. There’s no meat in the greens,” he reiterated.

“It’s funny because my daddy was like, ‘so, you’re going to put a recipe in your cookbook that ain’t got no meat in it?’ He did it very like, ‘boy, you’re stupid.’ And I was like, ‘but daddy we didn’t always have meat … the meat wasn’t always the star, just a piece of meat. And the meat was usually smoked to give it a smokey flavor. It wasn’t supposed to be meat and greens.”

While his dad may have been skeptical about including a recipe for greens without meat, he was impressed with Matthew’s recipe for apple turnovers.

“There’s actually a picture of my dad and I (in the book) where he’s actually tasting that apple turnover that I made,” Matthew said. “He said, ‘if Ii’d known then what i know now, I would have made you go to culinary school.’ I think that was the biggest joy for me in doing this cookbook … getting this approval from my dad.”

Aside from rethinking what qualifies as “traditional Southern food”, Matthew also wants to get people thinking about the bounty and diversity of Georgia agriculture.

“I wanted to show all the things that we can eat,” Matthew said. “What is it like to grow fresh herbs, what is it like to have all these wonderful things … We have a super long growing season here on the coast, so I can have early harvest watermelons and late harvest watermelons. I can have pumpkins early in the year and pumpkins at the end of the year.”

“I have (a recipe for) rabbit fricassee in there,” Matthew continued, “ and most people aren’t going to expect me to be talking about rabbit. But I have letters between my grandmother and great grandmother that are literally just about rabbits and hunting rabbits. “I want people to think that there’s a lot to Southern food and I want people to think about Georgia and think about it in all of its grandeur … Everybody has a different lens. I wanted to make sure that my book had its own lens. And when people look at it and start cooking the recipes, I want people to think, ‘I’ve never had it this way before!’ I want those kinds of conversations,” Matthew said.

Along those lines, Matthew will be joining Southern Soil’s team of contributors in order to share his insights into Georgia’s diverse food systems. As both a chef and a farmer (or CheFarmer), Matthew hopes to be able to offer tips and observations regarding growing cycles, seasonal produce and soil systems across the State.

Matthew returned to his family farm near Brunswick in 2011 when his Nana handed over the title to him and his sister Althea. Though the land had lain fallow for about 15 years, they have worked to slowly bring it back into production.

This year, rice and Sea Island Red Peas are being grown together in the Reezy-Peezy field. Fruit trees have been planted and wild berries abound.

“There’s wild blackberries all over the farm,” Matthew said. “When I was a kid, that used to be the deal - to bring back the most blackberries that we could get so my nana would give us some money. It’s that time of year and I am loving the blackberries and huckleberries that are coming on right now. I’m loving berry life!”