Before there were tacos and barbecued brisket, there was corn. Before there were culinarians and Michelin star chefs, there were the Caddo.

Travel back to 700 A.D., and you’ll find members of Native American tribes cultivating corn beneath the East Texas sun. Leap forward to present-day San Antonio and you’ll see Rico Torres and Diego Galicia helming a Michelin-starred restaurant in Southtown.

A compelling exhibit at the Witte Museum, “Gather ’Round the Table: Texas Food Traditions,” compresses 1300 years of gastronomic history into a one gallery that covers 5,500 square feet. 

Near the beginning are the Caddo. Near the end are Torres and Galicia of Mixtl. In between are videos and historic photographs, shadow boxes and interactive tables, arresting visuals and glass-encased displays, which illustrate the ingredients, innovations and people behind Texas foods.

“Texans are foodies,” said Nalleli Guillen, vice president of interpretation and curator of history at the Witte Museum. “People love their barbecue. Their Tex-Mex. ’Gather ’Round The Table’ is what we hope is an accessible way for people to enter and think about Texas history and culture.”

Central to the exhibit — and to Texas itself — is corn. From the Caddo to tortilla-makers to the fine dining chefs of today, el maíz is woven through the culinary fabric of the Lone Star State.

“Each summer, corn harvest season connects Texas to its Mesoamerican cultural and culinary roots,” reads one exhibit label. “An essential hearty crop in Texas’ hot climate, corn sustained growing communities all across the state and is essential in nearly every Texas kitchen, whether eaten roasted or in a cup, as cornbread, corn fritters, grits, or in the many dishes made from handmade masa.”

The food exhibit evolved from a kernel of an idea years ago. A Witte team of 80 brought it to fruition in September. It took nearly five months to build and complete the exhibit, which runs through Feb. 7.

While planning the exhibit, Guillen and her team asked Texans about their food memories. Experiences shared by chef Johnny Hernandez inspired a larger vision for one component of the exhibit.

“His memories were rolling tortillas with his grandmother,” Guillen said. “So that idea of corn or flour (tortillas) grew into a larger section than we had initially started.”

Texas is home to great food debates. Red salsa or green salsa. Corn tortillas vs. flour tortillas. Chili with beans or without. Those debates play out in six “food fights” throughout the exhibit.

Visitors can vote for their favorites by placing chips in acrylic tubes that represent their preference in a given debate. 

Guillen expected “no beans” to easily win the Texas chili debate, but she expressed surprise at the support “chili with beans” received.

“There have been so many bean defenders,” Guillen said.

Chili con carne, popularized in San Antonio by the chili queens in the 19th century, became the state’s official dish in 1977. Academician and culinarian Ellen Clark understands the importance of chili. Its appeal, she explained in an exhibit video, transcends flavor and spice.

“Tasting chili evokes so many, many stories,” said Clark, a University of Texas at San Antonio professor emerita of bilingual-bicultural studies. “How your grandmother made it, how your mother made it, how your tías made it, how you buy it in a can of all things. How you utilize it left over. And then, of course, our cook-offs.”

The exhibit uses artifacts and photographs to guide visitors on a journey across Texas: Peaches in the Hill Country. Citrus in the Rio Grande Valley. Oysters on the Gulf Coast. Peanuts and pecans in South Texas. 

One exhibit features a mortar and pestle to grind corn. Another shows the origin of the puffy taco. Photographs feature Ray’s Drive-Inn, the five Lopez brothers, and brother Henry Lopez, who launched Henry’s Puffy Tacos in 1978.

From a caption beneath a black-and-white image: “Oldest sibling Raymond H. “Ray” Lopez opened Ray’s Drive Inn in 1956, building a menu of dishes inspired by Lopez family favorites including the Crispy Dog and the Puffy Taco, originally advertised as a ‘Crispy Taco.’”

Guillen shares a nugget of Lopez lore. According to family legend, a great-grandmother in the early 20th century, Maria Rodriguez-Lopez, was frying a corn tortilla on a stove. The woman became distracted and the masa inflated. 

“And she dropped something on top and it bent,” Guillen said. “That’s part of the story you can find in a Texas Monthly article.”

Conversations sparked by the exhibit have captivated Katye Brought, Witte vice president of communications and marketing.

“I have really enjoyed observing people sit and talk to each other,” Brought said. “It’s refreshing to see people who don’t know each other come together and share stories about their connection with food, or how their culture interacts with food, and to see others listening.”

The exhibit wraps with a celebration of contemporary food. A 10-foot replica of the fiesta staple chicken on a stick stands in one corner topped with a large jalapeño.

Across the way, a massive mural, “¡Provecho San Antonio!,” depicts people and food traditions across eras. Artist Kat Cadena presents a gathering of prominent faces, from pioneering chili queens to modern chefs, such as James Beard-nominated Nicola Blaque.

Near the mural are homages to Pearl District, the Culinary Institute of America, St. Philip’s College and Mixtli, San Antonio’s first Michelin star restaurant. Each has played a role in elevating the city’s culinary profile.

Guillen flavors “Gather ’Round The Table” with local anecdotes. Consider the Big Red and Barbacoa Taco. 

“One story I think is wonderful in San Antonio is chef Leo Davila, who is down at Esencia at the St. Anthony Hotel,” she said. “He’s one of these fine-dining chefs who is making corn tortillas by hand. But he’s adding Big Red (soda) directly into the masa, making the tortillas red, and making them entirely new to South Texas, all set within the traditions that make up his life.”

Innovation is one hallmark of the Texas food industry. Another is using native ingredients and techniques to advance innovation, in effect, creating a culinary circle of life. 

“You have fine-dining chefs returning to the idea of making tortillas from scratch, and that’s incredibly arduous work,” Guillen said. “It’s backbreaking work. But they are returning that traditional art form back to Texas plates today.”

“Tasting chili evokes so many, many stories,” said Clark, a UTSA professor emerita of bilingual-bicultural studies. “How your grandmother made it, how your mother made it, how your tías made it, how you buy it in a can of all things. How you utilize it left over. And then, of course, our cook-offs.”