Macon Magazine

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2022 | maconmagazine.com 59 So, Pickard introduced Harris to his friend Jordan Massee: "You could see him [Massee] at his best around Jessica. They really bonded over food, but food as a way of looking at the world." Massee's way of looking at the world was influenced by a life that began when he was born into a wealthy family and raised in the landmark mansion -- known as "The Massee" to locals -- on Macon's College Street. He traveled widely and spent decades living in New York City, where he spent time with his cousin, the famed novelist Carson McCullers, and her circle of friends, including playwright Tennessee Williams. Rick Hutto compiled and edited Accepted Fables, Massee's autobiography published posthumously following Massee's death in 2002 at age 87, and founded the Jordan Massee Lecture Series. "I think Jordan would be delighted that Jessica is the speaker this year," Hutto said. "These two extraordinary minds," Pickard added, "Jessica and Jordan are cut from the same cloth." That word - extraordinary - came up regularly when talking with those who know Harris. European culinary antiques expert Kerry Moody used it to describe a woman he said is like a sister to him. He's known Harris for 30 years and clearly remembers the day he was working at Lucullus Antiques in New Orleans when she walked into the shop. "When she told me her name, I said, 'THE Jessica Harris?' And she nodded," Moody said. He went on to tell her that he had all of her cookbooks. "I don't know if she believed me, but I asked her, if she was going to be in town, I would bring them in and perhaps she could sign them for me." He did. And she did. And as their friendship grew over the years, Moody credits Harris with the opportunity to meet another world-famous food expert: Julia Child. "Jessica was in town writing an article for Essence magazine about Julia Child's visit to New Orleans, and I get a phone call saying, 'Julia Child would like to visit Lucullus.' She's never told me, but I think Jessica suggested that Julia stop by," Moody said. Child is known for familiarizing American cooks with French cuisine. Harris posits there's a reason why French food gained its international reputation: "I think…part of the reason that French cuisine, las cuisine française, is considered to be all of that is because it's codified." Harris said she is working with the Culinary Institute of America and that the school has recently established a concentration in the food of Africa and its diaspora in the Americas. The program may be one step, among others, toward codification of these influential foodways. "I think things need to be codified. You can put anything on a plate and call it jerk. What is jerk? It has a particular history, a particular origin, and particular components to be called jerk," Harris explained. "In some ways, you have to name it and define it in order to claim it." Harris's research and writing are vital to establishing that baseline. Mercer University professor Dr. David Davis said Harris's work is based on decades of research on how foods originated in Africa and were reimagined throughout FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: Jacket image, Jordan Massee's autobiography, complied by Rick Hutto. Jessica with chef, author, and TV personality Julia Child.

• Cover