PR2005 Aug 10

NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 10 2005

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Wendy Jones 205-391-2310

wjones@sheltonstate.edu

Ravenna to Present at Southern Foodways Symposium

Tuscaloosa - Chef Neil Ravenna, head of the Culinary Arts Program at Shelton State Community College in Tuscaloosa, has been invited to participate as a presenter in the nationally acclaimed “Southern Foodways Alliance Symposium” on Friday October 28 in Oxford Mississippi at The University of Mississippi.

The eighth annual Southern Foodways Symposium topic is “The Sweet Life – Sugar and the South.” The event provides opportunities for cooks, chefs, food writers and inquisitive eaters alike to come to a better understanding of Southern cuisine and Southern culture.

Ravenna will participate in session entitled “Iconic Deserts” discussing “Lane Cake.”

Particularly popular throughout the South, the white or yellow cake is layered with a mixture of coconut, nuts and dried fruits and covered with a fluffy white frosting. Lane cake is said to have originated in Clayton, Alabama, when its creator, Emma Rylander Lane, won a prize for it in the state fair. She first published the recipe under the name "Prize Cake" in her 1898 cookbook "Some Good Things To Eat.”

The mission of the Southern Foodways Alliance it is to document, celebrate, preserve, and promote the diverse food cultures of the American South. The 2005 conference is scheduled October 27 through 30. For more information on the SFA visit their website at www.southernfoodways.com. For more information on the Culinary Arts Program at Shelton State Community College, contact Chef Neil Ravenna at 205/391-2620 or by email at nravenna@sheltonstate.edu.

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