Free The Tastemakers by David Sax Page B

commercial rollers to mill corn, hull rice, and grind wheat, Anson Mills operated with antiquated equipment, like granite mill stones, so the product retained a traditionally coarse texture, which affected taste tremendously because it left many aspects of the grain, such as the germ, intact. Anson Mills products, which require very specific storage and cooking instructions (they are not shelf stable), are packaged simply and sold directly to the chefs Roberts knew from his past life in the restaurant business. He asked them to spread the word, and their enthusiasm for his products soon grew within the upper echelons of America’s culinary tastemakers.
    The first product that Anson Mills put on the map was grits. Grits are technically a very simple product, with origins in Native American culture, and are made of coarsely ground cornmeal. Over time the varieties of corn used to make them had grown so efficient that grits were practically devoid of all taste. The large industrial mills that ground down kernels to cornmeal did so with pulverizing force, resulting in a grit that was much too small and uniform, with the plant’s germ, where much of the flavor is stored, largelydestroyed. However, grown at organic farms in three states, the heirloom corn for Anson Mills’s grits, in varieties such as Carolina Gourdseed White, John Haulk Yellow, Burris White, and Boone County White, is naturally soft, hand harvested, and stone ground, resulting in an uneven appearance and large grits that are hearty in texture and ready to soak up flavor. David Chang, the chef and owner of the Momofuku group of restaurants, first encountered Anson Mills’s grits in 1999 when he was cooking at Craft, a restaurant run by chef Tom Colicchio. “No one was using the grit cut at that time,” Chang recalled, noting how chefs like Colicchio and Mario Batali first used it to make Italian-style polenta. “It shows you where American dining has gone. No one was going to put grits on a fine-dining menu. Then [fine dining] became a little more rustic and slowly evolved from there and grew.” Chang’s own shrimp and grits dish, made with Anson Mills grains and laced with ramen stock and soy sauce, was a nod to his own Korean American–southern roots and was one of his first standout hits at Momofuku Noodle Bar, his flagship New York restaurant. As word of Anson Mills’s grits spread from kitchens like Chang’s, the demand among chefs soared, and grits became a must-have item on menus around the country, prompting others to grow and sell their own stone-ground grits in imitation of Roberts.
    â€œGlenn Roberts’s reputation began spreading like wildfire years ago when he first reintroduced us to the proper grit and to Carolina Gold rice,” the New Orleans chef John Besh recounted. “Word spread through the upper-echelon kitchen ranks by word of mouth.” Besh, whose grandfather had ground his own grits, hadn’t seen a proper grit in decades. “Then came Anson Mills, who in turn inspired others to begin milling again. I credit Glenn with this renaissance of not only the mill but of southern food and culture as well.” Charleston soon became a food destination at the center of this movement, on par with San Francisco as a magnet for culinary tourism, as hush puppies, shrimp and grits, and fried chicken dishes began populating menus all over the country, from fine-dining spots such as Charlie Trotter’s in Chicago to small neighborhood bistros and even national chains such as the Cheesecake Factory.
    During our lunch at the Glass Onion I tasted the shrimp and grits Roberts had ordered, piled in a wide bowl with pan-fried fat prawns and thick slices of spicy Andouille sausage. These were Anson Mills hominy grits made from John Haulk corn grown nearby, cooked in the Charleston style by quickly boiling them in milk. Their color was a deep, custardy yellow, but there were flecks of brown and