The SoFAB Institute documents and celebrates the food and drink of all cultures through exhibits, programming, and a range of media. Read more.
Because everyone eats, all aspects of food and drink – culture and geography, anthropology and history, economics and politics, law and policy, media and the arts, science and technology – reveal the state of the world.
The SoFAB Institute, home to several divisions, is growing into the most comprehensive cultural institution studying food and drink.
Liz Williams,
Liz Williams
Elizabeth (Liz) Williams is the Founder and President of the SoFab Institute (SoFAB.) Liz became determined to integrate her love of food and history and was amazed that the South did not have a museum dedicated to its extraordinary and unique culinary traditions. After collecting numerous artifacts and planning exhibits, recruiting nationally recognized chefs and food industry leaders to serve as the Board of Directors, Liz and her team developed and refined the concept of SoFAB. The Southern Food and Beverage Museum opened its doors in June of 2008, in the Riverwalk, overlooking the Mississippi River in downtown New Orleans. She has served as culinary consultant for festivals in Colombia and France, as well as in the US.
Fascinated by the way the lure of nutmeg and peppercorns motivated the exploration of the world, Liz considers herself lucky to have been born into a family of Sicilian heritage in New Orleans and grow up eating dishes derived from two strong food traditions. Much of her research and writing centers on the legal and policy issues related to food and foodways. Besides establishing SOFAB, she consults on issues of nonprofit management and governance, as well as public/private partnerships, intellectual property and publishing. Her book, The A to Z Encyclopedia of Food Controversies and the Law, was being published in 2010 by Greenwood Publishing. Her latest book, New Orleans: A Food Biography was published by Alta Mira in 2013.
Liz served for five years as the President & CEO of the University of New Orleans Foundation, during which time the foundation established and opened the world acclaimed D-Day Museum (now the World War II Museum) and the Nims Center (a film studio with motion capture laboratory.) The Foundation also developed and managed the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, a 33-acre research park with over 250,000 square feet of office space and several other projects, including the UNO Press. Prior to the UNO Foundation, Liz was the Director of the Arts Administration Program at the University of New Orleans. She also practiced law with an emphasis on nonprofit organizations and giving. Liz frequently serves across the U.S. as a judge for food festival events, a difficult job but someone has to do it.
A graduate of Louisiana State University (BA, English) and Louisiana State University Law Center (JD) she has served in the U.S. Army as a Judge Advocate General (JAG). She has practiced law in Washington, D.C. and Louisiana. Liz is a regular contributor to magazines and blogger to several online publications. Liz remains a passionate worldwide traveler, an ongoing mission; she says “to eat new food in new places.”
Ryan Hughes
Chef Ryan Hughes was born in Ohio with a long line of Midwestern farming in his roots. Starting as an apprentice at the famous La Maisonette in Cincinnati Ohio, Chef Hughes learned Classical French techniques and discipline from the then longest running Mobile Five Star restaurant in the U.S. From there his desire to further his craft led Chef Hughes to the South where he graduated Johnson & Wales University in Charleston, S.C. while also working as pastry Chef for Louis Osteen, a culinary visionary that Hughes calls “the Paul Prudhomme of Low Country cooking.” When Hughes came to New Orleans 14 years ago, he landed at Brennan’s, where he learned Creole ways from chefs that had come up through the ranks for decades. Hughes continued his education in Southern cooking under Chef Susan Spicer’s Bayona and opening Emeril Lagasse’s Delmonico. From there as Executive Chef at Johnny V’s and Café Degas it earned him critical accolades from Times Picayune restaurant critic Brett Anderson.
Chef Ryan Hughes dedication to exploring and celebrating the rich culinary history of the South has resulted in his creation of Purloo, a critically acclaimed long running “popup” restaurant which is the precursor to the brick-and-mortar restaurant to be located in the new Southern Food and Beverage Museum. Along with his weekly involvement as the “Culinary Consultant” on NPR radio show Louisiana Eats! w/ Poppy Tooker, furthers Chef Hughes’ explorations into the culinary recesses of the South.