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USF Professor To Speak On State Food History

Photo from Andrew Huse

Andrew Huse, an assistant professor at USF, will speak on Florida's food history this Saturday at Centennial Park Branch Library, in Holiday.

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By Cheryl  Bentley | The Suncoast News

Published: March 18, 2009

Almost 90 years after it began, we're still feeling the effects of Prohibition.

The constitutional ban on alcoholic beverages changed American dining habits, says Andrew Huse. Most importantly, more women began dining out, thus opening up their world, adding a step forward in the women's liberation movement.

Prohibition also led to changes in hotel restaurants that are still apparent today. To make up for lost alcohol revenue, restaurants either had to raise their prices or lower their quality. "Hotel restaurants lowered their quality," he explains. "They still haven't recovered."

Those are only two of the historical changes in which food plays a role that comes up in a conversation with Andrew Huse. Huse is assistant librarian at the University of South Florida's Special Collections Department and Florida Studies Center in Tampa. He also teaches a Florida gastronomy graduate course for the Florida Studies Program at University of South Florida.

He will speak on "Florida's Delicious History: A Gastronomic Journey Through Modern Florida" on Saturday, March 21, at the Centennial Park Library in Holiday. The Friends of the Pasco County Library System and the Florida Division of Cultural Affairs are sponsoring the program.

In looking at Florida food, Huse says it is necessary to divide Florida into regions. "There are many Floridas - the panhandle, south Florida, the east coast, the west coast, central Florida."

Florida cuisine also reflects its huge population of non-native residents. "No one comes from Florida," Huse laughs.

His talk will explore not only the Sunshine State's high-end cuisine but its drive-ins, barbecue pits and fish fries. Always the food scholar, Huse hopes to learn from his Holiday visit. "I'm interested in hearing people's memories of food," he says.

Huse began studying food when he realized what we eat walks hand in hand with cultural changes. "I'm interested in the cultural intersection with food," he says.

The way people eat and think about food changes with the times, he says. "Fish that were considered trash 50 years ago are now delicacies today," he says. That includes grouper and tuna, which, he said, Hillsborough fishermen use to sell for cat food.

Even staples such as fast-food hamburgers and candy bars undergo subtle changes. "They're shrinking or growing depending on the cost," he notes.

Although the change in weight may be only a few grams and indiscernible to the general public, dollar-wise business people have learned to take advantage of the practice.

"They may make it 5 percent bigger and charge 20 percent more as a super size," he says.

These days, restaurateurs have been quick to change to reflect the current sagging economy by selling cheaper meals and allowing diners to split entrees, Huse observes.

Huse had to wait until he was an adult to develop his passion for food. When growing up in Clearwater, he was fond of Ramen noodles and TV Dinners. "I responded to sugar and salt," he laughs.

But when gourmet cooking lured him into its tasty trap, his interest in food took off. He decided to combine his interests of food and history.

Food is not often studied historically, he observes. "To most historians, food is not important - until they skip dinner."

Something as important as food deserves its place on the historical roster, Huse says. It is a subject that appeals to a wide audience. "Academics writing for academics do a disservice to everyone. They are lofty people talking about lofty subjects. I want to reach a wider audience."

Huse will speak at 2 p.m. this Saturday, March 21, at the Centennial Park Branch Library, 5740 Moog Road, Holiday. The program is free.

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