Paul Ruppert's Third Floor space, above the soon-to-come Slim's Diner, is playing host to a really cool-sounding new series on Saturday, April 16th at 7pm: "In Good Company with Trey Graham: Dinner with The Antebellum Chef."

Hosted by Trey Graham, a well-known arts and pop culture journalist formerly with NPR, the first event of the series will be "an evening of Southern hospitality and stimulating conversation with noted foodways blogger Michael Twitty (known as the 'The Antebellum Chef')." From the event description, it sounds like an evening of amazing food, stories of the South and an opportunity to be involved with something creatively delicious.

"It's an experiment in hospitality and story-telling. A room full of good people from different backgrounds," Trey told me. "Above all, we want people to take away from the evening a sense that their curiosity has been satisfied, and sparked."

Trey describes the event on the Eventbrite site as, "Michael and I — and you! — will eat and drink and talk about what's on our table. We'll share stories about the traditions of Southern cooking, the people and communities who created and preserved them, and the inescapable questions of ownership and authenticity that arise when those traditions collide with market-driven trends among today's foodies."

Michael Twitty will do the cooking (three full courses with cocktails and snacks), and Trey Graham will lead a casual conversation at a large U-shaped table, and he's looking for full participation from the audience.

"We'll socialize with each other in a structured program to tell stories about food and culinary research," Trey said.

South Carolina-born, DC-based performer Sheldon Scott will also be there to share a "food-centric story from his own artistic interrogation of his Gullah-Geechee heritage -- a major thread among the skein of foodways Michael Twitty studies and advocates."

If you're interested in an evening of casual discussion about the history of Southern cooking (based on Twitty's research), eating some amazing Southern food (there will be vegetarian meal options), having drinks and being involved with a new creative series right here in Petworth, this is for you.

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When
Saturday, April 16, 2016 from 7:00pm to 10:00pm

Where
Third Floor - 4200 9th St NW (Upshur & 9th Street)