From left: Dewey Scott, Linwood Scott III, and Linwood “Sonny” Scott Jr. grow sweet potatoes on a family farm that dates to the late 1800s. photograph by Charles Harris
On a sixth-generation family farm in Lucama, owners Linwood “Sonny” Scott Jr.; his wife, Alice; and their sons, Linwood III and Dewey, harvest more than 4,500 acres of sweet potatoes each year. Scott planted the first crop of the tuber on the farm, which had traditionally grown tobacco, after returning from a tour of duty in the Army Reserve. Today, the family both grows and packs the vegetables and distributes them domestically and internationally.
Sweet Potatoes (Well Shut my Mouth!!) owners Stephanie Tyson (left) and Vivián Joiner offer a sweet potato sangria to complement their sweet potato cornbread, which is served with hot honey ginger butter. photograph by Stacey Van Berkel
Chef Stephanie Tyson wanted to name the restaurant that she and Vivián Joiner opened in 2003 “Sweet Potatoes” because of the versatility of the vegetable, which appeared often on her menu. When a friend gave them a painting that said, “Mmm sweet potato — shut my mouth,” the two added the phrase to the official name. The venue in Winston-Salem’s downtown arts district features sides like sweet potato biscuits with molasses as well as sweet potato cornbread — staples that remind diners of food their mothers and grandmothers used to cook for them. “Being able to have people come together and share what I do and what I have to give,” Tyson says, “is the best feeling.”
The festival’s parade in downtown Tabor City features marching bands, dancers, and Yam Man, the festival’s mascot. photograph by Matt Ray Photography
When the first North Carolina Yam Festival was held in 1946 in Tabor City, the town was becoming known as the yam capital of the world. “We are well aware that what we grow here are sweet potatoes, not yams,” explains Cynthia Nelson, manager of the North Carolina Yam Festival Association. But she feels that, this way, the name is “just a little catchier.” The annual celebration was revived in the mid-’80s after a two-decade hiatus and has been held the fourth Saturday in October ever since. Attendees can visit food vendors for sweet potato treats like doughnuts and fries, enter their creative sweet potato dishes in a cook-off, or get a little messy with the hands-free sweet potato pie-eating contest. Whatever folks participate in, they’re bound to leave happy.
Community members come together to volunteer at the Sweet Potato Drop in Robersonville: (above, from left) Chief Deputy Drew Roberson, Mayor Tina Brown, the Rev. Dr. Rodney Coles Sr., pastors Angel and Ronnie Staton, and Velma Brown. photograph by Chris Rogers
Having grown up in poverty in New York, the Rev. Dr. Rodney Coles Sr. knows what it feels like to experience hunger. In 2004, he and his wife, Debra, founded the Churches Outreach Network to alleviate hunger and provide resources and education to those in need. To further that goal, the organization began a “Sweet Potato Drop” of tubers donated from Greenville-area farmers in 2012. Now, more than a decade later, the event will take place in Bethel, Belhaven, and Robersonville on the Friday before Thanksgiving, when a total of three tractor trailers full of sweet potatoes are made available to the community for free. “There was a time when I was the cup,” Coles says of being in need as a child, “but I feel so good to be the pitcher.”
Sweet potato biscuits are “kind of a North Carolina thing,” Jeff Burns says. He especially likes the crispy ones from the edge of the pan, and his favorite way to eat them is plain with a cup of coffee. photograph by Chris Hannant
Jeff Burns grew up in Texas watching his grandmother make biscuits in the mornings. He’d never had a sweet potato biscuit until he moved to North Carolina around age 15, and even then, the slightly sweet, flaky treats had to grow on him. “I enjoy them thoroughly now,” he says. Today, Burns — owner of Belcross Biscuit Company since 2022 — starts off by roasting fresh sweet potatoes and finishes by baking the biscuits until they’re golden brown on the bottom. While they’re baking, he says, “you smell caramelized butter and sweet potato, and you know you’re in the right place.”
Covington Vodka, made from sweet potato puree, is one of many products developed by the Ham Farms team: (from left) Will Martin, Brandon Garris, Sydnee Ham, Bobby Ham, Amy Ham, Adam Ham, Trey Wilson, and Justin Bagley. photograph by Charles Harris
After growing up on a tobacco farm, Bobby Ham planted his first sweet potatoes in his native Greene County in the early 1980s and now grows about 9,000 acres of the crop. Ham Farms offers whole sweet potatoes, purees, and a sweet potato vodka. Spirits aside, the sweet potato is “one of the healthiest foods there is on the planet,” Ham says. And, he adds, “North Carolina’s an ideal place to grow it.”
Fullsteam Brewery owner Sean Lilly Wilson (top right) named the Carver Sweet Potato Lager for agricultural scientist and inventor George Washington Carver, who promoted the planting of sweet potatoes in soils depleted by cotton. photograph by Charles Harris
The Carver Sweet Potato Lager poured at Fullsteam Brewery isn’t loaded down with a bunch of the spices that people typically associate with sweet potatoes. “The early genius of Carver came from our first head brewer [Chris Davis], who said that he wanted the subtle, earthy flavor of sweet potato to take center stage,” says Sean Lilly Wilson, who founded the brewery in 2010. The amber lager is served seasonally in the fall, and dedicated customers look forward to its release every year.
At Thanksgiving, sweet potato pies like Mildred “Mama Dip” Council’s grace tables across North Carolina. photograph by Tim Robison
Beloved Chapel Hill restaurateur and cookbook author Mildred “Mama Dip” Council made her sweet potato pie with fresh sweet potatoes, boiled and hand-mashed. Although Council died in 2018, the pie, with its custardy filling, continues to be a family favorite, especially at Thanksgiving. Click here to learn how to make it for your family.
This story was published on Oct 24, 2024
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