Chef & Farmer Matthew Raiford Is Keeping His Family's Gullah Geechee Traditions Alive in Georgia [Plus He Shares His Recipes!]

The land was calling—the fertile, prosperous land in coastal Georgia, the land with all its history, sometimes violent, and its unfettered beauty—and Matthew Raiford, chef, author and farmer, answered the call. But not without decades of time passing. And certainly not without many reservations.

Matthew, along with an estimated 1 million other descendants of enslaved Africans who worked on plantations in North and South Carolina, Georgia and northern Florida, is Gullah Geechee. His great-great-great-grandfather, Jupiter, was born into slavery in South Carolina. Enslaved Africans, particularly those from the western part of the continent, were forced to work on U.S. plantations "specifically to grow rice, because they had that knowledge," says Matthew, but also to grow cotton and indigo. They spoke an African-influenced form of English, called Gullah, Geechee, Gullah Geechee or Sea Island Creole, and applied African cooking methods and seasonings to available ingredients. Many iconic Southern dishes are from the Gullah Geechee kitchen.

After emancipation, Jupiter began buying property, and by 1870 he owned 450 acres outside of Brunswick, Georgia. By the time he passed away, he had sold most of it, but what was left went to his sons. The land was eventually inherited by Matthew's grandmother and her brothers, and he grew up on that land. And now Matthew and his wife, Tia, tend the 50-acre Gilliard Farms on this same land. Getting to the present, a time when he is joyfully rooted in his ancestral homeland and buoyed with passion to continue to create, was a process. But it was a process he wouldn't change for anything.

Left: Matthew and Tia Raiford harvest rosemary at Gilliard Farms in Brunswick, Georgia. Right: Sea Island red peas. Siobhan Egan of Paprika Southern

"As a child I was out here, on my ancestral land, cleaning field peas with my great-grandmother," he says. "And when you got to do all those things as a child, and then get to come back and do them as an adult—I'm stoked and excited. I ask the ancestors what they want. I try to commune with nature as much as possible."

When he was only 18, Matthew left Georgia in search of something more. He joined the Army and traveled the world. He cooked for his fellow service members when time allowed, and explored markets and restaurants from Germany to Saudi Arabia, sampling new ingredients and discovering new cooking techniques. When his military time ended, he enrolled at Howard University in Washington, D.C., to study physiology. But still, the kitchen called to him. So he changed course, first enrolling in a culinary program in Falls Church, Virginia, and later making his way to the storied Culinary Institute of America in New York. After working in restaurants from Las Vegas to Washington, D.C., he found himself at a family reunion at the family farm in 2011.

Left: Zuri Marsh enjoys a lowcountry boil with her mother Jessica Short at Gilliard Farms in Brunswick, Georgia. Right: Matthew Raiford preparing his lowcountry boil. Siobhan Egan of Paprika Southern

His nana and her brothers hadn't been able to keep up with the farm. It was overgrown and weedy. As Matthew gazed out the kitchen window one evening, he suddenly felt like someone was speaking very softly to him, welcoming him home. He knew it was his responsibility to bring the farm back to its full glory.

"I feel I've been given an opportunity that my mother's generation didn't have," Matthew says. "We're doing things the way my family always did them—the old ways of composting and carbon sequestration. My family has always been a part of that, even when it didn't have a name. That alone makes me feel amazing."

Now Matthew and Tia grow everything from Santee Gold rice, tomatoes and okra to aloe and mullein on their farm, plus raise chickens and pigs. Matthew refers to himself as a "chefarmer": "It means that not only am I in the kitchen, but I'm also a steward of the land that that food comes out of." In his recipe development process, he both honors ancestral connections to food and uses his own ingenuity with ingredients that are familiar to him.

left: colorful tomatoes right: chicken being held in coop — Paprika Southern

"It starts with the seed. How I'm planting it, when I'm planting it, when I'm harvesting it," he says. "Then I'm looking for the taste. Is that Sweet Passion muskmelon going to be amazing?"

Matthew and Tia have ambitious, heart-centered plans for Gilliard Farms and the work they continue to do on this ancestral land. Both of them find the farm a place rife with inspiration—but also one of centering and grounding. They hope to bring that treasure and gift to those in their wider community and beyond, by creating a combination wellness center and retreat space, tapping into Tia's experience as a yoga practitioner and Matthew's as a chef and farmer. Ultimately, they want to create a safe space at their farm.

Matthew and Tia Raiford with their chickens. Paprika Southern

Looking back now, he realizes taking over the farm was way bigger than just a leap of faith: "I realized that it was my responsibility to return the farm back to a farm, to ensure that the legacy is able to continue for another six generations."