Chef Kevin Mitchell and David S. Shields

From Brunswick stew to Vidalia onions, from fried apple pies to the storied Georgia Products Feasts of 1913, Taste the State: Georgia is a sweeping, flavorful exploration of the state’s distinctive culinary traditions and the stories behind them.

In this richly illustrated and deeply researched volume, chef Kevin Mitchell and food historian David S. Shields highlight more than sixty iconic ingredients and dishes that define the diverse and enduring food culture of the Peach State.

Structured through 65 A-to-Z entries, the book offers detailed profiles of foods both familiar and unexpected—like catfish, country ham, pimento cheese, guinea squash, possum and taters, and rattlesnake watermelon. With each entry, readers are treated to historical context, vivid storytelling, period “receipts,” and modern recipes by Chef Mitchell that reimagine traditional Georgia flavors for today’s kitchen.

Through engaging narratives, Taste the State: Georgia celebrates the people, places, and cultural intersections—Native American, African, and European—that shaped Georgia’s cuisine. The book also includes a compelling foreword by acclaimed Savannah chef Mashama Bailey, who reflects on the importance of culinary memory, heritage, and storytelling.

Chef Kevin Mitchell is a celebrated culinary historian and chef instructor whose upcoming book, Taste the State: Georgia – Distinctive Foods and Stories from Where Eating Local Began, co-authored with food historian David S. Shields, will be released by the University of South Carolina Press in August 2025. The highly anticipated volume follows the success of their 2021 award-winning title, Taste the State: South Carolina, and further cements Chef Mitchell’s reputation as a scholar and storyteller of the American South’s rich culinary traditions.

As a chef instructor and program ambassador at the Culinary Institute of Charleston and an adjunct lecturing instructor at the Culinary Institute of America, Chef Mitchell blends academic rigor with kitchen-tested expertise. He is also the co-host of the upcoming television series Savers of Flavor, a documentary-meets-travelogue project exploring heirloom ingredients, forgotten recipes, and the untold stories of Southern food.

A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, where he earned both an AOS and a BPS degree, Mitchell began his career in top restaurants around the country. In 2008, he became the first African American Chef Instructor at the Culinary Institute of Charleston. His commitment to celebrating and preserving African American culinary contributions led him to earn a master’s degree in Southern Studies from the University of Mississippi in 2018. His thesis, “From Black Hands to White Mouths,” has been recognized as a foundational text on the impact of Charleston’s freed and enslaved cooks on Southern cuisine.

Chef Mitchell’s advocacy for honoring Black culinary legacies was especially evident in his role as Chef Coordinator for the 150th anniversary reenactment of Nat Fuller’s Feast in Charleston—a historic, racially integrated banquet originally hosted by the formerly enslaved chef Nat Fuller in 1865.

In 2022, he and his wife, Rhonda, launched the Chefscholar Dinner Series, intimate dining experiences designed to honor the legacies of African American chefs through education, storytelling, and historic recipes. Held in historic spaces—including homes once occupied by enslaved cooks—the series offers up to 16 guests a powerful and personal exploration of culinary heritage.

Chef Mitchell has received numerous honors for his work, including being named a South Carolina Chef Ambassador (2020–2021). He is a National Board Member of Slow Food USA, a Board Member of the Carolina Gold Rice Foundation, a member of the Southern Foodways Alliance, and serves on the Diversity Board of the Culinary Institute of America.

With deep roots in both scholarship and kitchen craft, Chef Kevin Mitchell continues to use food as a vehicle to tell stories, foster pride, and preserve culture—always with a reverence for the people who created the dishes we call Southern today.

David S. Shields—often called “the flavor saver”—is a renowned food historian and preservationist who has dedicated his career to reviving the lost flavors of the American South. As co-author of Taste the State: Georgia – Distinctive Foods and Stories from Where Eating Local Began (University of South Carolina Press, August 2025), Shields continues his work with longtime collaborator Chef Kevin Mitchell to trace the stories behind the state’s most iconic and endangered culinary ingredients.

Shields is best known for tracking down forgotten food crops and helping restore them to fields and tables. Thanks to his research and advocacy, ingredients such as Carolina Gold Rice, Cocke’s Prolific Corn, Bradford Watermelon, Rice Peas, Purple Straw Wheat, Seashore Black Seed Rye, and Carolina African Runner Peanuts have been brought back into cultivation and use. His work bridges horticulture and cuisine, agriculture and culinary artistry, connecting the past to the future of Southern food.

He is the author of 14 books across the fields of early American culture, photographic history, and food studies. His award-winning culinary histories include Southern Provisions (2015), The Culinarians (2017), Taste the State: South Carolina (2021), and most recently The Ark of Taste (2023). His research has twice earned him James Beard Award finalist recognition in food history, and he was honored as the Southern Foodways Alliance’s “Keeper of the Flame” and Slow Food USA’s “Snailblazer for Biodiversity.”

Shields is the Chair of the Carolina Gold Rice Foundation, Head of the Ark of Taste Committee for the South, and was named Carolina Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of South Carolina in 2024. In 2025, he and Chef Mitchell will host and write a PBS television series, Savers of Flavor, documenting their search for the South’s most endangered traditional fruits, grains, and vegetables—and the stories behind them.