Biscuits and Groovy Blog

Groovy Southern Food, lifestyle and Travel.

My personal riffs on classic southern food and culture. Originally from Louisville Kentucky I have lived in Prague, Czech Republic since 2011. Join this southerner as I explore Czech Republic and the world combining local experiences and foods into some groovy southern fusion.

Kraig

Southern biscuits

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Biscuit making

Biscuits and Buzz Cuts.

Simple doesn’t mean easy!

What do buzz cuts have to do with biscuits you may ask?

Well that’s where my background comes in. I”ve been a barber all my life. I come from a family of barbers. I grew up around my families barbershop but followed other interests as well. One of them being cooking. I never really wanted to work in a restaurant. I did it more for my own personal interests and enjoyment. I’m a very social person. For me cooking good food, creating new dishes and sharing it with friends and family is what it’s all about.

So to get back to my original question. What do buzz cuts have to do with biscuits? A buzz cut is the most simple of haircuts but there is more to it than is seen at first glance. A buzz cut by a master barber is akin to a biscuit made by a master baker or biscuit maker. To the uninitiated it’s a simple biscuit or buzz cut but closer inspection reveals that there is much more going on. Good cooking or good haircuts reach a level of greatness when done with skill, passion and love.

I was new to baking when I took a boulangerie course at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. I learned to bake a variety of breads. From baguettes and rustic french loaves to croissants. A bread recipe is a simple thing. They all share the same basic ingredients, flour, yeast, salt and water. On the first day my experience as a master barber told me that I could spend a lifetime trying to perfect bread baking.

Why chase an unattainable goal? Because of the challenge, enjoyment and satisfaction of taking those basic ingredients and creating something so simple but so delicious. The art of mixing, kneading and shaping the dough. Baking it and transforming it into life sustaining bread. As a southerner my bread of choice is the southern biscuit.

When you share those hot, buttery, fresh from the oven biscuits with family and friends you’re sharing the love you put into making them.

“Biscuits are my love language”

Mama’s biscuits

“The stove is the shrine where I convene with my ancestors”

Adam Ragusea

Biscuit memories

“Hallelujah, Amen and pass the biscuits please”

Nathalie Dupree

A southern belle’s biscuits

I had the great pleasure many years ago to learn the fine art of biscuit making from the legendary Nathalie Dupree. I assisted her at couple of her workshops at the Cook’s Warehouse in Atlanta. Later I had the great honor of assisting her for a week at her home in Social Circle, Georgia.

A true southern belle Nathalie was the most gracious of hostesses. I had been introduced to Nathalie by Ray Overton. Ray, a cook book author and instructor had been Nathalie’s assistant previously.