So here we are, with a West African dish having taken firm root in the American South, most deeply in Louisiana but with a significant footprint in other coastal areas, too. That footprint can still be found today outside of Louisiana, though many diners may not necessarily make a connection between it and Louisiana-style gumbo. When considering gumbo’s broader impact on the South, it helps to look to regions beyond Louisiana, such as the coastal Lowcountry of South Carolina.
BJ Dennis is a personal chef and caterer in Charleston, South Carolina, and he specializes in Gullah Geechee cuisine. He grew up in the 1980s and 1990s eating traditional Lowcountry foods with West African pedigrees without thinking much about them. It wasn’t until he decided to pursue a culinary career that he started really digging into the culinary heritage of his grandparents and their generation. That heritage includes traditional West African-style gumbo, which is often called okra soup in the Lowcountry.
“I heard it both ways [growing up],” Dennis says. “Mainly from my grandparents, they would always say okra soup, though I’ve heard okra gumbo, too.”
