Skip to main content

The Manual may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site.

Southern Food and Slow Cookers: An Interview with Celebrity Chef Hugh Acheson

As a cookbook author, restaurateur, and judge on the Emmy award-winning show Top Chef, Hugh Acheson is no stranger to new kitchens. For him, an unfamiliar cooking environment is a chance to flex his culinary skills while still serving up the true Southern food he is known for.  For his latest guest chef experience, Acheson spent two weeks at the Seaport Food Lab in New York City’s South Street Seaport. Acheson is one of the eight star chefs (including Jessica Koslow, Dale Talde, and others) that have or will take over the kitchen of the Food Lab this summer.

Before he could get started, though, he had to make sure everything was ready to go.

Recommended Videos

“When doing a residency like this, we need enough equipment to work on, a space that’s not primitive and basic but is suited to serving ninety people a night in a fast-paced environment, and skilled staff that understand the idea of culinary authenticity. I don’t want them just rushing through projects for no reason,” he says.

Once the staff and space were ready, the next step was fine-tuning the menu. Acheson said that he planned a menu that would be doable, delicious, and a testament to “Southern food in the way I want to express Southern food.”

However, the concept of Southern food isn’t as easy to unpack as many would like it to be (or as many think it already is), however. “[It] should be an agrarian reaction to a season, through food of simplicity that’s been through a lot historically.” The cuisine isn’t just chicken fried in lard and biscuits and gravy, nor is it gallons of Mountain Dew and greasy food wrappers.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

“Authentic Southern food came here in the pockets of slaves and on the backs of a gross period in history, so we have to pay homage to that and understand that. There’s beauty there in that survival,” Acheson says.

It’s through food that Acheson works to pay homage to the grim history attached to Southern cuisine. Acheson says he is working to tell a story about the South — about how it has changed, about where he and others want it to be, and about just how important food is to the South identity.

Menu items included West African-influenced stews as well as a variety of light good that Acheson says was surprising for many people.

“I’ve heard multiple people say ‘Wow, I feel full but I feel great,’ and that’s not typical for a lot of ‘Southern’ restaurant outside of the South. You’re typically served gloppy grits and a fried pork cutlet with collard greens on the side. Sure, that’s an aspect of Southern food, but that’s not the totality of Southern food,” Acheson says.

For those that have had bad experiences with what are seen as typical Southern dishes, Acheson says he hopes that his menu helped them realize the potential for evolving staple meals.

“So many food memories we have are tainted by tasting one dish once, and maybe it wasn’t so good and we really don’t want to go back to it even though it’s a foundational, epic Southern dish [like she-crab soup, which was on the menu]. When we’re able to take a rendition of that and modernize it and lighten it and make it really fresh and beautiful, then I think it reshapes perspective.”

Acheson pays attention to both the physical nature of being in a place but also his determination to understand the academic side of the food as well. Immersing himself in writers like

Edna Lewis

,

Frank Stitt

, and

John T. Edge

 helped Acheson understand the stories that came before his dishes and how he could contribute to that conversation in some way.

“I think that you have to have an endless curiosity in the work or the art that you love and food or drink was my endless topic,” he says. Acheson was then able to take that knowledge and translate into recipes, restaurants, and more.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

“I think Southerners are portrayed in a generalized way that isn’t necessarily true and I think it’s really interesting to show that,” he says. Part of showing that for Acheson has been educating Southerners on the cultural history of many of the dishes that they grew up with—and sometimes wrongly attributed historically.

“There’s a certain cultural honesty that I think they’re waking up to. It binds and clarifies the difference between soul food and Southern food, which are essentially the same thing. For me, it’s interesting to look into it and reframe it.”

In his next cookbook, Acheson too is also looking to reframe the public’s ideas on something ingrained in American culture — the slow cooker. 

In

The Chef and the Slow Cooker

,  Acheson wants to show people leading busy lives with children and obligations that you don’t have to just subscribe to meal services like Blue Apron to be able to create delicious meals at home.

“I always had a slow cooker and for years I don’t think I really pulled it out of the closet. One day I started making chicken stock in it,” he says. “It’s a great device for walking away and going to work or doing whatever you’re doing.”

“We’re really busy these days, but we also have this craving to cook from scratch, so in lieu of sending away for a prepped meal you can cook in ten minutes, why not do it yourself and learn the beauty of buying from the farmer’s market and doing basic prep?”

When he started researching recipes, most from the 1950s and 1960s, he found that many focused on canned and frozen goods —  but you won’t find those in his book. Acheson’s original recipes range from a classic pot roast with a twist (a miso braise and a chickpea and pepper salad) to kimchi-braised chicken and a Gullah-influenced catfish stew.

“It’s taking food to a different level with a contemporary nod,” Acheson says.

While the book will not be out until mid-October, you’ll have to excuse us while we go make sure our slow cooker is in working order.

Sam Slaughter
Sam Slaughter was the Food and Drink Editor for The Manual. Born and raised in New Jersey, he’s called the South home for…
Kentucky Owl’s new Batch #13 is the final masterpiece from a bourbon legend
Kentucky Owl

Popular whiskey brand Kentucky Owl recently announced the launch of its newest bourbon, Batch #13. It was blended and crafted by former Master Blender John Rhea. What makes the whiskey more unique is that it was the last bourbon blend created by the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame member before his retirement.
Kentucky Owl Batch #13

Batch #13 consists of a blend of five different bourbons. There’s a mix of younger and wheated whiskeys and more mature and higher rye whiskeys. The blend is roughly between eight and nine years old.

Read more
This underrated Dunkin’ coffee is smooth, strong, and totally worth the hunt
Don't overlook this coffee staple order
Dunkin nitro cold brew

Nitro cold brew is one of my go-to, anytime coffee orders, and it never disappoints, no matter where you order it. Even though nitro cold brew has grown in popularity, I still find it a "harder to find" coffee shop order when I'm on the go. I crave something about this drink's velvety smoothness—something you don't get from a regular cold brew order.

But why isn't everyone ordering the Dunkin' Nitro cold brew? Maybe Dunkin' just missed the mark on marketing this exceptional drink, but everyone I've talked to seems to have no idea that Dunkin' even has nitro cold brew. Or maybe it's just that this drink is not available at every Dunkin' location. Everyone seems to associate nitro cold brew with Starbucks, yet this drink is available beyond just Starbucks locations. Here's why I'll keep ordering Dunkin's nitro cold brew (and telling everyone I know about this order).
Where to find the Dunkin' nitro cold brew

Read more
When it comes to Champagne, what does the word “Brut” actually mean?
Get to know your bubbly
Champagne flutes

There’s just something about champagne that makes my heart flutter. Maybe it’s the sparkle, maybe it’s that famous cork pop that signals the start of a glamorous time, or maybe it’s the way it makes any cocktail feel special. I love champagne in all its forms, whether it’s bone-dry and bracing or sweet and indulgent. But not all bubbly is created equal, and if you’ve ever been confused by the difference between “brut” and “demi-sec,” you’re not alone. Let’s break down the different types of champagne so you can sip exactly what you love.
Understanding Champagne sweetness levels isn’t just wine snob trivia — it’s the key to choosing a bottle you’ll actually enjoy. Whether you’re a brut loyalist or prefer your Champagne to be softer and sweeter, knowing the differences between brut, extra dry, sec, demi-sec, and doux puts you one step closer to popping the perfect bottle. Let’s break it down, starting with the term you’re most likely to see: Brut.

What is Brut Champagne?

Read more