Inspired by oral histories collected by the Southern Foodways Alliance, Natalie collaborates for the first time with writer, photographer, and oral historian Angie Mosier to create a catalog featuring people working in their home kitchens or places of business. Alabama-based photographer Robert Rausch and stylist Tom Driver, create images, presented with hand-written recipes in the catalog. This was the first of many collaborations with Robert, Tom, and Angie.
Learn more about the Southern Foodways Alliance here.
Explore Robert’s photography and creative endeavors and follow his travels @robertrausch.
Explore Angie Mosier’s photography and follow her adventures @angiemosier.
Hear from Angie, our friend and collaborator, here.
Explore Tom Driver’s work and follow along @chickydriver.
The Kitchen Project:
Executive Producer: Enrico Marone Cinzano
Creative Director: Natalie Chanin
Creative Consultant & Photographer: Robert Rausch
Oral Historian & Project Consultant: Angie Mosier
Stylist: Tom Driver
Web Designer: Shannon Schmalfeldt
Web & Photo Assist: Abraham Rowe
All clothing provided by Project Alabama
Slide 1: Spread from The Kitchen Project catalogue featuring Sonya Morris, co-owner of The Hollywood Inn restaurant in Florence, Alabama, 2005
Slide 2: Photograph of Hollywood Inn co-owner Sonya Morris for The Kitchen Project, 2005
Slide 3: Photo of the Hollywood Inn's trademark “Soul Food” sign in Florence, Alabama for The Kitchen Project, 2005; Detail of painted T-shirt with reverse appliqué from the Project Alabama and Michi Meko Collaboration, featured in The Kitchen Project catalogue, 2005
Slide 4: Preparation of the Hollywood Inn’s signature sides, The Kitchen Project, 2005
Slide 5: Handwritten menu at the Hollywood Inn, The Kitchen Project, 2005
Slide 6: Spread from The Kitchen Project catalogue featuring a quote from beloved Project Alabama employee Erin Dempsey, 2005
Slide 7: Erin Dempsey preparing her grandmother’s deviled egg recipe; Erin is wearing a Project Alabama shirt and jacket with Tartan embroidery, The Kitchen Project, 2005
Slide 8: Spread from The Kitchen Project catalogue featuring a quote from friend and James Beard Award-winning chef Frank Stitt, 2005
Slide 9: Frank Stitt and kitchen team members at his restaurant Highlands Bar & Grill, Birmingham, Alabama, The Kitchen Project, 2005
Slide 10: Frank and Pardis Stitt at their restaurant Highlands Bar & Grill; Handwritten recipe for Asparagus with Crawfish Meunière, one of the chef’s signature dishes, The Kitchen Project, 2005
Slide 11: Detail of Frank Stitt’s painted t-shirt with reverse appliqué from the Project Alabama and Michi Meko collaboration, The Kitchen Project, 2005
Slide 12: Spread from The Kitchen Project catalogue featuring a quote from seasoned home cook Mickie Thirkill, 2005
Slide 13: Mickie Thirkill’s son, Stephen Wilson, wearing the Eagle T-Shirt by Project Alabama; Mickie Thirkill’s china, The Kitchen Project, 2005
Slide 14: The Thirkill-Wilson Family wearing Project Alabama, photographed around Rona Mickie Thirkill’s dining room table, The Kitchen Project, 2005
Slide 15: Detail of Project Alabama t-shirt with Leaf stencil and appliqué worn by Nancy O’Neal, Florence native and then-resident of Lauderdale County’s oldest standing home; Nancy making coleslaw in her home kitchen, The Kitchen Project, 2005
Slide 16: Nancy’s traditional white coleslaw recipe (a southern staple), The Kitchen Project, 2005
Slide 17: Coleslaw ingredients in Nancy O’Neal’s kitchen for The Kitchen Project, 2005
Slide 18: Spread from The Kitchen Project catalogue featuring local artists Audwin and Sandi Mcgee, 2005
Slide 19: Sandi and Audwin McGee in the loft of Kurtz and Marlowe, overlooking Spring Park in Tuscumbia, Alabama; Racks of baking sheets from the Culinary Center, The Kitchen Project, 2005
Slide 20: Handwritten recipe for Stained Glass Sugar Cookies from Rhonda Allen and Laura Hester for The Kitchen Project, 2005
Slide 21: Our dear friend Mrs. Jessie Mangrum, photographed in her dining room; Vintage appliances tucked away in Natalie Chanin’s kitchen on Mud Road, Central, Alabama, The Kitchen Project, 2005
Slide 22: Mrs. Jessie Mangrum joined by her daughter Barbara Young, photographed at her home in Oakland, Alabama, The Kitchen Project, 2005
Slide 23: Spread from The Kitchen Project catalogue, quote from Mrs. Jessie Mangrum describing her Depression Era soup, recipe saved from 1930s government pamphlet, 2005
Slides 24–25: Natalie Chanin and her father, Billy Smith, making biscuits in her home on Mud Road, Central, Alabama, The Kitchen Project, 2005
Slide 26: Jonathan and Joseph Tomberlin wearing embroidered Project Alabama t-shirts, photographed at their mother Pamela Tomberlin’s home in Florence, Alabama, The Kitchen Project, 2005
Slide 27: Pamela Tomberlin making bread in her home, Florence, Alabama, The Kitchen Project, 2005