“Put Some South in Your Mouth.” Remembering Chef Joe Randall

By Joseph Marinell, President & CEO/Visit Savannah

Feb. 17, 2026 – At Visit Savannah, our job is to attract visitors to Savannah and Chatham County for leisure trips, meetings, group tours and conventions. One of our many strategies is to invite meeting planners and travel writers to town to experience our destination firsthand. Once they visit this amazing city, the chances of them writing about us in national publications or bringing their meeting or convention here increase exponentially.

Joseph Glascoe Randall “Chef Joe Randall” Obituary February 14, 2026 – Adams Funeral Services

When hosting guests of this ilk, experiencing Savannah’s “best” is what they are most interested in. Our best lodging options, our best walking and riding tours, our best attractions and of course, our best culinary options.

Not long after I arrived in early 2007, our Director of Public Relations at what was then called the Savannah Convention & Visitors Bureau, Erica Backus, said to me: “You’ve got to meet Chef Joe Randall. You’re going to love this guy.” Boy, she was sure right.

We took a short ride out to Chef Joe’s cooking school and kitchen on Waters Avenue. For those reading this that visited it, you know what I’m talking about. This tiny white house, next to a gravel lot, with no sign identifying where we were and a rusty screen door on the front.

I looked at Erica as if to say “really?”, and with a wink and a smile, she confidently replied “you’ll see”.

Go “Back of the House” at Chef Joe Randall’s Cooking School and “put a little South in your mouth!” Video | Facebook

As we walked into the tiny shop, a full-blown cooking school kitchen was laid out with a U-shaped counter and stools for about 18 seats. It took me quite by surprise. And from around the corner, a huge man in an elegant chef’s jacket and hat, greeted us with a smile and a handshake.

This was my first meeting with Chef Joe Randall. The three of us sat and talked for over an hour. His raspy voice was somewhat distracting, but his career and experiences blew me away.

You see, I sort of grew up in the hotel business. Before moving into hotel and destination sales and marketing, I started in the business as a line-level cook at the Cleveland Airport Marriott. There, I worked, learned and trained under chefs from Denmark, Germany, Puerto Rico and the Culinary Institute of America. Each taught me the art of cooking: quality control, timing, presentation, taste and efficiency.

As I talked with Chef Joe that day, I giggled as he spoke. His stories of his many years cooking in restaurants, hotels, resorts and cruise ships had me enthralled. He had done it all, seen it all and accomplished so much over the years. I knew then that we were going to have some fun together.

Over the years, Erica and I entertained meeting planners and travel media at Chef Joe’s cooking school many times. Each time, while teaching our guests about the flavors of the Low Country, he would bark out instructions to his wife, and acting sous chef, Barbara, who was always in the background. Each time he did, she would roll her eyes, make a snide comment and always have our guests laughing with her under-her-breath commentary.

The aromas were great and the food always delicious, but they were a show unto themselves.

Over the years, we found many ways to showcase Chef Joe as one of Savannah’s most unique characters and culinary leaders. We would ask him to speak with visiting groups when they came to town and even took him to New York City with us to showcase “good ol’ Southern food” to groups of convention prospects and travel media from that city and to entertain them along the way.

Whether it was finishing up a cooking school experience in Savannah or “puttin’ on the Ritz” in front of those jaded New Yorkers, Chef Joe would always leave them with his trademark quote: “Put some South in your mouth!” And they loved it.

Over the years, we would often meet for breakfast at the International House of Pancakes in Midtown, a place that he was well-known and often “held court” meeting with friends and associates. He was very proud of being included in the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.

When he and his partner opened a new restaurant, the Good Times Jazz Bar & Restaurant on Broughton Street, we were one of the first to host a large group there, again, with Chef Joe proudly showing off something that Savannah needed badly, a place for great live jazz, good cocktails and an amazing meal.

I haven’t seen him as much the last couple of years, but we talked by phone many times and we always talked about how much he loved Barbara. They were special together.

Now, he’s gone. Another Savannah celebrity and character no longer with us. Savannah and Chatham County will miss him. I already do.

The Celebration of Life Service will be held 11:00 AM, Saturday, February 28, 2026 at St. Paul CME Church located 1601 Barnard St. **This service will be live-streamed and shared on the Facebook page of Adams Funeral Services: https://www.facebook.com/adamsfuneralservices

If you find value in this website, please consider contributing above or via Paypal to help cover the costs. You can also send contributions via Venmo @Savannah_Agenda. Your support, no matter how much you give, is appreciated and will help ensure the future viability of this community resource. You can also show your support by subscribing below and sharing Savannah Agenda with others via email or social media. Increasing readership is critical to the long-term success of this site.