Taste the past. Season the future.
Welcome—I'm Julian Barrett Gooding: storyteller, documentary filmmaker, media arts educator, and foodways historian based in Charleston, South Carolina. For more than four decades I’ve used story, film, and the kitchen table to connect cultures and generations. My e-commerce shop, Thyme Travelers Kitchen, brings that mission home with small-batch spice blends and thoughtful kitchen goods inspired by the entwined food histories of West Africa, the Caribbean, and the American South.
Food-Ways Projects & Programs
My work goes beyond the spice jar. I design foodways programs that bring history to life—through story, demonstration, and shared tasting.
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Folktales Fish Fry
A gathering of Southern folktales with roots in West Africa, served alongside the tradition of frying fish as a way to build community. -
The Pickled Huguenot
A hands-on look at quick pickling, tracing how Huguenot immigrants helped popularize preserved vegetables in the South—and why tart, bright flavors still cut through our rich cuisine. -
Taíno BBQ
The Indigenous Caribbean origins of barbacoa and how that technique traveled, transformed, and helped shape Southern barbecue culture. -
Big Momma’s Sweet Potato Pie
A playful debate—pumpkin vs. sweet potato—paired with a family pie demonstration and a conversation about the sweet potato’s significance to African Americans after the Civil War.
Across these projects, the goal is the same: use flavor to open dialogue—about migration, labor, innovation, and the everyday genius of home cooks.
Join the Journey
When you season a pot with one of my blends, you’re adding more than spice—you’re adding story.
Browse the shop, book a program, or sign up for updates to get recipes, history notes, and event news.
Thyme Travelers Kitchen
Honoring the past. Feeding the present. Inspiring the future—one pantry and one story at a time.