Fred Sauceman's Advice for Food Writers

Fred Sauceman – whose work and recipes we have profiled in previous blog posts – has dedicated decades of his career to sharing unique stories about Appalachian food and culture.

"I don't try to be a food critic and am quick to correct people when they call my pieces 'reviews,'" says Sauceman. "That's not what I do at all. I don't critique food. I explain it and the connections behind it."

As anyone who has experienced the rich nostalgia and comfort of a recipe passed down through generations knows, telling stories about food is a bridge to telling stories about people and communities that serve and share it.

"I use food as a starting point to write about people," says Sauceman. "People who have worked hard all their lives to feed us, in relative obscurity – they inspire me. Whether it's a sorghum maker or a barbecue pitmaster, I'm inspired by people who respect tradition."

On Interviews

For Sauceman, interviews – the heart of what he does – are the most important part of storytelling. He advises that the first step of conducting a good interview is making it clear to subjects from first contact that you respect their products and their businesses.

"Many of the people I've written about had never been interviewed before, so I had to overcome some initial reluctance," says Sauceman. "Taking the time to do some research before the interview sounds obvious, but it really shows the subject that you care, that you want to learn more just for your own curiosity, and that you won't be engaging in some sort of interrogation. Be conscious of the subject's time and workload. For restaurant people particularly, schedule interviews during slack times. And never show up with a list of questions."

Sauceman stresses these precepts in the "Appalachian Foodways" course he's been teaching at ETSU since 2005. As part of the course requirements, students must conduct an oral history interview.

"Have a general outline of what you want to ask in your head, but don't walk into the interview with questions on a piece of paper," says Sauceman. "That can make your subject uncomfortable, and you, as an interviewer, may be focused on what the next question on the list is and totally miss an angle or direction that you had never anticipated. Make the interview a conversation. And if you sense some discomfort on the part of your subject, ease into the conversation. Don't ask the most challenging question first."

Sauceman suggests starting with a question that might seem secondary.

"[Ask] about a picture hanging on the wall, let's say, or a sign out front," says Sauceman. "Then move into the heart of the interview. Oftentimes those 'warmup' questions yield useful and unexpected results. One of the things I'm most proud of in producing the documentary films is how natural the subjects are."

Many of the people Sauceman interviewed had never been on camera before.

"We just sat and talked before the camera was ever turned on," says Sauceman. "And it worked. I gained their trust by showing them I respected their line of work, their products, their businesses."

On Quality

As for what makes a piece of food-and-culture writing good, Sauceman says it's in the context and connection.

"I like to explore how a dish or how a business fits into the culture around it, or how, in some cases, they oddly stand out," says Sauceman. "Irony, incongruity, and humor always make a good story. One of my favorite pieces is about a German lady, now well into her 90s, who married an Irishman and who serves Italian pizza on the banks of Watts Bar Lake in Kingston, Tennessee. And that leads to another theme: longevity. The Dip Dog Stand, legally known as The Hi-Way Drive-In, has been serving red-dyed hot dogs – skewered, dipped in a secret batter, fried, and rolled in mustard – since 1957."

This dip dog establishment has been in the same spot on Lee Highway for that long, surviving the coming of Interstate 81 in 1963 – an event that shut down many businesses along that highway.

"I like to write stories about people who overcome odds, who never quit," says Sauceman. "One of my favorite subjects is barbecue."

In fact, Sauceman wrote an entire book on barbecue: The Proffitts of Ridgewood, covering the Proffitt family's iconic barbecue joint in Northeast Tennessee, Ridgewood Barbecue, near Bluff City.

"The Proffitt family has kept that business going since 1948, in a beautiful mountain hollow," says Sauceman. "It was originally a roadhouse. When Sullivan County went dry in 1952, the Proffitts didn't quit. They retooled the business and started selling barbecue, ultimately becoming one of the best barbecue joints in the country. I also like stories about people who refuse to give in to shortcuts."

Sauceman reports that the Proffitts cook "real barbecue" in a pot over hickory wood with no gas and no electricity. Despite salespeople pushing them to invest in electric cookers, they refuse to compromise.

"They keep the fires burning and stay with the old ways," says Sauceman. "I like stories about quirky products. Ridgewood serves one. It's a blue cheese dressing, but no green salad is involved. It's house-made dressing served in a bowl, and you dip saltine crackers into it."

On Joy

Sauceman's favorite part about his work is the connections he's made with people over the years through food, which presents new opportunities and unexpected experiences.

"If you have an interest in food, you can talk to people from anywhere," says Sauceman. "It's an immediate connection. When I meet people from other countries and they find out that I know something about their food, their faces light up. Through a food connection several years ago, I was able to follow B.B. King for an entire day and night when he returned to his homeland in Mississippi. Ten years ago, if you would have told me I would be speaking at a convention of sorghum syrup makers, I wouldn't have believed it, but that happened, through a connection I made with the Guenther family in Overton County, Tennessee, makers of Muddy Pond Sorghum."

The knowledge Sauceman garnered from the Geunther family eventually lead him to produce a documentary film about sorghum.

"Even as long as I have been doing this, I still keep learning," says Sauceman. "A couple of years ago, I first learned about sonker in North Carolina and wrote about it. It's a dish similar to cobbler, and in writing that story, I explored all the historical connections I could find. Sonker too, by the way, is a dish that originated during hard times."

Sauceman loves writing and creating books. One of the reasons he's remained with Mercer University Press, his longtime publisher, is that they involve him in every stage of the process.

"There is nothing that can compare to the thrill of seeing your new book for the very first time," says Sauceman. "Those are the red-letter days."

On Getting Started

Most of what Sauceman knows about food came through his own reading and research. He's read many food-related books and cookbooks, and when he chooses a cookbook, he looks for stories and context accompanying every recipe. Sauceman recommends taking an academic course on food and culture if you can find one.

"They are becoming much more common now than they were in 2005 when I created the 'Foodways of Appalachia' course," says Sauceman. "But more than that, I would say, if you are a student or will become one, take all the humanities and liberal arts courses that you possibly can: anthropology courses, history courses, literature courses, language courses. They have helped me immensely in my writing over the years."

Sauceman stresses the vital nature of networking, pointing out the example of his involvement with the Southern Foodways Alliance. He recommends seeking out an organization like that and making connections.

"As I write stories now, SFA members are in my mental Rolodex, so I know who to call or email when I need a quote or a perspective on a subject," says Sauceman. "I would also say, don't try to make a living as a food writer. It's a great sideline. But get a job with benefits and security first! Even some of the best and most well-known food writers I know are constantly having problems with finances."

For Sauceman, having a stable income has taken the pressure off his storytelling, making food writing and food studies a joyous pursuit.