3. Southern flair
Traditional dishes with strong ties to Southern culture aren’t just enjoyed by residents in Morrison Community Living’s southeast region—they’re demanded, says Jae Church, corporate executive chef. Livermush, a loaf made from spiced liver and beef that’s floured and fried, is in the breakfast rotation. “That is particularly in Florida, Virginia, the Carolinas, when you go into deep south Georgia,” Church says.
Fried green tomatoes and pimento cheese are popular regional specialties, and as for the latter, “It has to be homemade,” he says. “You have to use real pimentos and it has to have cayenne pepper and hot sauce. You can’t buy it in the jar. They know the difference.” With other Southern dishes, it doesn’t matter just how they’re made but when they’re served. “You have to serve fried chicken on Sundays, because it’s a normal after-church ritual,” Church says. “And catfish Fridays. It has nothing to do with being Catholic; mostly, down here [residents tend to be] Baptist and Episcopalian.”