Wild Abundance: Ritual, Revelry & Recipes of the South' S Finest Hunting Clubs - Hardcover

Editor Susan Schadt is President & CEO of ArtsMemphis. Wild Abundance: Ritual, Revelry & Recipes of the South’s Finest Hunting Clubs is her second publication. As Executive Editor of First Shooting Light: A photographic journal reveals the legacy and lure of hunting clubs in the Mississippi Flyway in 2008, she became committed to chronicling the legacy of Southern culture and intense devotion to land and wildlife.

Wild Abundance captures the time-honored Southern hunting camp experience in stunning photographs and moving descriptions by some of my very favorite chefs. I was immediately reminded of the tales my grandfather told of his duck hunting exploits, and I can still taste the magic his cook worked with the bounty he brought home. Happily, there is also plenty of magic on these pages. This book is a real gift to anyone who loves the South and its traditions and, above all, good food.

JULIA REED
Author of The House on First Street and Ham Biscuits, Hostess Gowns, and Other Southern Specialties

Fighting Bayou is the best place in the world for unbelievable duck hunting, fabulous Southern cooking and listening to great stories from true characters. I always cherish my time at this special place.

ELI MANNING

In wonderful photography and delicious recipes, Wild Abundance offers a rare glimpse into one of the nation s hidden worlds, the South s venerable hunting clubs where time has stood still, where the primordial face-off between humans and nature continues and where the cooking remains some of the finest to be found.

MOLLY O NEILL
Author of One Big Table: A Portrait of American Cooking

Along with visions of some of my Southern chef friends having the time of their lives, the spirit of the South is what lives on in the timeless anthology Wild Abundance. The winter bird hunt, a Southern rite of passage, is usually a private time with close friends and family coming together to break bread and share in the ancient ritual of hunting for sustenance. While plenty of strong drink brings out a Roman feasting element, all is bound by a Southern sense of hospitality and gracious sharing. It brings an almost spiritual side to the predawn winter night freezing cold, nervous with anticipation all captured on these glorious pages with chefs, camp cooks and good buddies. I wish I were there. Well, next winter, let s go. But until then, Wild Abundance will happily do.

FRANK STITT
Chef, author and owner of Highlands Bar and Grill

Louisiana and the southern United States are uniquely poised at the apex of the Mississippi flyway, and every autumn finds sportsmen ready for another season in the blind. While fielding wild fowl is a birthright in the South, being named camp cook is a privilege and honor bestowed upon few. Yes, sportsmen live for crisp mornings on the marsh, but perhaps most cherished are the culinary masterpieces created at spectacular mansions in the marsh such as Richard Zuschlag s Grande View Lodge in Creole, Louisiana, and in fabulous cookbooks like Wild Abundance.

CHEF JOHN FOLSE
Host of PBS A Taste of Louisiana and author of After the Hunt