Recipe Contest and Cookbook
The
Gullah Diva
Sallie Ann Robinson
Daufuskie Island, SC
Celebrity chef, television personality, and authority of Gullah tradition, Sallie Ann Robinson is a sixth-generation native of Daufuskie Island, South Carolina, renowned for her culinary expertise, entertaining presentations, and knowledge of the Southeastern United States Gullah culture.
Robinson has maintained a notable presence on local and national television and in popular magazines for more than a decade. Her television appearances have been many and include the December 2008 pilot for Georgia Public Broadcasting’s Dixie Divas in the Kitchen. She has also made guest appearances on such noted programs as The QVC Show, The 700 Club, CN8’s Your Morning Show, and The Food Network and on Travel Channel with Andrew Zimmern Bazaar Food.
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In addition to her high visibility as a recognized television personality, Robinson has been a frequent favorite subject of magazine and newspaper journalists. Some have profiled her as an author while others have focused on her ongoing efforts to preserve the legacy of Gullah culture. Articles showcasing her life and work have been presented in such publications as: Southern Living (April 2005 and Sept 2004); National Geographic (Dec 1987); Hilton Head Monthly (May 2008); The South Magazine (Oct-Nov 2006); Garden and Gun (2009), and Bon Appetit in 2012. In October, 2010, Robinson was invited by the Smithsonian National Museum of African Arts to lecture on Gullah heritage and do a cooking demonstration, subsequently posted on You Tube.
In author Pat Conroy’s 1972 novel, The Water is Wide reminiscence of his year of teaching 5th through 8th grades in Daufuskie Island’s tiny schoolhouse, Robinson, a student, is remembered as “Ethel.” The novel subsequently inspired stage adaptations as well as two major movie productions, all of them introducing Robinson via her fictional alter ego. Additionally, portraits of members of Robinson’s family, including her grandmother, Louvinia Robinson, are featured in Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe’s 1982 book Daufuskie Island: A Photographic Essay.
