Page 26 - South Mississippi Living - May, 2021

ARTS
THE
ART
OF
FOOD.
story by Lynn Lofton
photos courtesy of
White Pillars, Chef Calvin Lipe, and Scranton’s Restaurant
In South Mississippi there are many excellent chefs who make dining out a pleasure and highly-rated activity. It may not always be the case that if it looks good it tastes good, but visually appealing food is tempting for the taste buds. Several top chefs spoke to us about
the art of food and why presentation is important.
At White Pillars Chef Austin Sumrall says it's true that diners eat with their eyes before the rst bite is taken. “And these days it might be more accurate to say people eat with their camera phones rst. If I look out in the dining room and see cameras ashing, I know we're doing our job. Presentation is very important to us. Each dish needs to be visually appealing because that is part of being a well-rounded dish.”
Sumrall grew up in a family of great cooks. “We joked that at lunch we would talk about what we were going to have for dinner.” This award winning chef and his wife, Tresse, brought a Biloxi tradition back to life with the opening of White Pillars in the historic building that housed the former White Pillars restaurant for many years.
“Our goal is to cook thoughtfully sourced, local, seasonal ingredients in the most delicious way possible,” he said. “Our menu changes almost every day depending on what we're
getting in.”
26 | May 2021