Chefs with Issues is a platform for chefs and farmers we love, fired up for causes about which they're passionate. John Currence is the chef and owner of City Grocery Restaurant Group in Oxford, Mississippi. In 2006, he received the Southern Foodways Alliance "Guardian of Tradition" award, and in 2009, he was recognized by the James Beard Foundation as "Best Chef South."

I am an odd animal. I am a chef and restaurateur with conservative fiscal views and liberal social ones. I consider myself reasonable.

While one part of me is extremely happy with the executive order President Obama issued last week which will allow certain younger, "qualifying" immigrants to apply for work permits, without fear of reprisal, another part of me is entirely disappointed that this homogenized edict is as far as he was willing to go in, what amounts to, an attempt to grab a fistful of votes in the coming election.
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Kate Krader (@kkrader on Twitter) is Food & Wine's restaurant editor. When she tells us where to get our grub on, we listen up.

You’ve heard it before: Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Many chefs around the country have heeded the call and are now serving morning meals. Still, that doesn’t mean all their dishes get a nutritional thumbs up.

Take breakfast sandwiches, the Homer Simpson of A.M. food service. Some chefs have created awesome versions that aren’t all available at their restaurants. And many nutritionists will say, thank goodness for that.
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On Friday, southern culinary connoisseur John Currence stopped by Eatocracy's 5@5 to decree the "Five Southern Dishes That Deserve a Comeback." And whad'ya know - gumbo groupies and aspic aficionados popped up in the comment section to show support of Currence's platform to bring these dishes back into the down-home repertoire.

You asked for recipes, and in true southern hospitality form, Currence obliged. Time to spread the pimento cheese gospel one gallon at a time.

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5@5 is a daily, food-related list from chefs, writers, political pundits, musicians, actors, and all manner of opinionated people from around the globe.

John Currence is the chef and owner of City Grocery Restaurant Group in Oxford, Mississippi. In 2006, he received the Southern Foodways Alliance "Guardian of Tradition" award, and in 2009, he was recognized by the James Beard Foundation as "Best Chef South." The Mississippi Hospitality and Restaurant Association named Chef John Currence the 2010 Restaurateur of the Year.

Currence’s native New Orleans kindled his life-long devotion to Southern-influenced fare, further fueled by a stint under the tutelage of Bill Neal of Chapel Hill, North Carolina’s Crook's Corner. With Neal, he pursued a potent blend of classical French technique and traditional Deep Southern American cuisine, now evidenced on his menus at City Grocery, Big Bad Breakfast, Bouré and Snackbar.

Kick back with some shrimp ‘n grits and jump on Currence’s bandwagon to bring these dishes back into regular rotation.

5 Southern Dishes That Deserve a Comeback: John Currence
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