SoFAB, The Southern Food and Beverage Museum, which is included in the New Orleans Power Pass attractions pass, is featuring a number of new exhibits.  New Orleans Power Pass customers may be interested in viewing these new SoFAB exhibits while using their Power Passes.

Three of the exhibitions are part of the new permanent "COOKBOOK CORNER" and one,“Southern Fried Elvis”, will begin in late March and be on display through early summer.

More information from The Southern Food and Beverage Museum on the exhibits -

“Southern Fried Elvis,” an exhibition of cookbooks that focus on the food eaten by the late King of Rock and Roll, opens to the public on Saturday, March 28, 2009.

The small exhibition features eight cookbooks that contain recipes of the foods that Elvis ate as well as other memorabilia including an extravagant pop-up book showing the rooms of Graceland, including the kitchen.

“We noticed we had at least eight cookbooks in the collection that focused on Elvis and we wondered why that was,” explains Chris Smith, manager of the collection. “Of course, we know that anything with the word Elvis in it sells, but we still found it odd that all of the books were published after Elvis died. Also, all but one of the books featured photos of Elvis only when he was thin. One book, which isn't fan-based or Graceland-based, has some shots of a heavy Elvis.

The books do not make fun of Elvis eating habits but try to describe what foods he liked.

“Elvis was a classic Southern boy who liked all the hard-core foods – meat loaf, mashed potatoes, pork chops, fried chicken, white bread with gravy, cheeseburgers, the whole nine yards,” says Smith. “And then there were his legendary favorites, which included banana pudding and the infamous fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches.

“I think one of the things that people find interesting about Elvis is that he did not change his eating habits once he became famous,” Smith says. “Even though he had the money to eat anywhere he wanted, he did not like fancy restaurants He preferred the food he grew up with. He loved Southern food as well as fast food.”

Smith says that Elvis’ eating habits are well documented.
•    Elvis did not like to eat fish
•    He was crazy about watermelon and cantaloupe
•    His favorite meal was breakfast
•    Elvis ate a lot of sandwiches because he said he didn't have a lot of time to eat
•    Elvis liked his meat cooked very well-done
•    When Elvis cooked, he generally fixed eggs and bacon
•    One item to be hand made each night at Graceland was banana pudding
•    Elvis did not drink alcohol
•    Elvis drank milk and would say “Milk makes ya sexy!”

The purpose of the exhibition is to ask questions abut the celebrity cookbook.

“Why do people buy cookbooks that feature the names of movie stars?” Smith asks. “Do people buy these particular books because they are collectors? Do people want to eat like their favorite entertainers? If so, better watch out because Elvis did not eat low-fat anything.

“Southern Fried Elvis” will remain on display until early summer.

exhibit:  "COOKBOOK CORNER"

“Cookbook Corner,” a new permanent section of the main gallery created to showcase examples of the museum’s extensive cookbook collection, is now open to the public.

The current exhibition focuses on three subjects: community cookbooks, classic Southern cookbooks, and an exhibit on the food in To Kill A Mockingbird that features a rare community cookbook.

“Cookbooks constitute the main holdings of the museum at the present time and we have some great books that need to be seen by the public,” says Liz Williams, president of the museum.”

Classic Southern Cookbooks

The exhibition consists of nine old cookbooks from various regions of the American South. They are important because they document a different time and place – when food was prepared in a different manner.

“These are old books that describe a time before food processors and microwaves,” says Williams. “They are from the distant past but it’s a time that no longer exists. They are genuinely fun to browse through but they also show how we got where we are today. “

Community Cookbooks

Community cookbooks are a unique genre of culinary literature. They are produced collaboratively by charitable organizations, churches, synagogues, heritage associations, clubs, schools, and museums. They represent the group's members and cuisine.

“These cookbooks are the spiral–bound books that have the home-made designs and they generally do not have the higher production qualities you would see in a professionally produced cookbook,” says Williams. “Many of them have recipes with cream of mushroom soups. However, these books are valuable because they clearly show what people were fixing for their family tables. They tend to be packed with donated recipes. I guarantee you that these books are read by many of the top chefs in the country who are constantly searching for new ideas.”

Community cookbooks focus on home cooking, often documenting regional, ethnic, family, societal traditions, and local history. They provide records of regional culinary cultures, and the historical, philosophical, and religious background of the people who compile them.

Charity cookbooks also show how women defined their roles, advised others, dispensed moral teachings, and preserved their own heritage for future generations.

There is another reason these books have value. “Community cookbooks have proved to be an extremely effective means of raising funds quickly,” says Williams. “Some have earned millions of dollars.”

There are 16 community cookbooks on display, one for each state in the South.

To Kill A Mockingbird

This exhibition consists of one artifact, “Calpurnia’s Cookbook”, named after the cook in the classic novel. The spiral-bound, 36-page community cookbook featured recipes of foods mentioned in the novel, as well as photographs of actors who perform in the play version of the book. The play version is performed every year in Monroe County, Alabama.

The cookbook was created by the Monroe County Heritage Museums in winter 2000.

“Harper Lee, author of To Kill A Mockingbird, hates to be interviewed and she abhors anything that trades on the book’s fame,” says Chris Smith, manager of the collection. “To underscore this sentiment, Lee demanded that the book no longer be published and no longer be sold from the Monroe County Heritage Museum.”

The book was immediately discontinued and is now considered to be difficult to find by collectors and book dealers.

“Oddly, we worked with a woman who graciously designed the museum’s lesson plan and she told us she had a copy and would loan it to us,” says Smith. “That was a very weird coincidence. Her name is Virginia Howard and she found the cookbook at a garage sale in Monroeville.”