State Library Hosts Panel Discussion on Family Recipes and Traditions

Photo of with Kugels and Collards authors Lyssa Kligman Harvey and Rachel Gordon Barnett in a field of collards

The SC Center for the Book hosted a panel discussion with Kugels and Collards authors Lyssa Kligman Harvey and Rachel Gordon Barnett, Villa Tronco’s fifth-generation family member, Tripp Roche, Chef Harold Pendleton of the War Mouth, and Dr. Ramon Jackson, Curator of African American Culture and History at the South Carolina State Museum. The discussion was focused on family recipes and their importance to family traditions revolving around food.

Attendees and panelists joined in conversation about collecting and preserving family recipes, South Carolina foodways, and what can be learned about history from these treasured memories, recipes, and stories. The event is part of the Speaker at the Center series, and is intended to highlight the literary and cultural arts and heritage of South Carolina. 

To learn more about the featured panelists, explore the following links:

Upcoming Event

Author photo of Patricia Brandon and the cover of Rise of the Pale Moon.

Author Patricia Brandon and "Rise of the Pale Moon"

February 11, 2026, 5:30 PM

Join us at the next installment of the Speaker at the Center with Author Patricia Brandon where she will discuss her historical fiction novel, "Rise of the Pale Moon." Set against the backdrop of the Revolutionary War era in coastal South Carolina, Rise of the Pale Moon weaves a compelling tale of three young women from distinct backgrounds: an indentured servant from London, a chattel slave raised on the Montague Hall plantation, and a Catawba Indian captured by the Cherokee and traded into slavery.