They call him Johnny Snack: Oxford, Miss., chef by profession, philanthropist out of necessity. But to hear John Currence tell his story, the effort to rebuild New Orleans' Willie Mae Seaton's Scotch House came from a place inside to which many folks never listen.

"It was divine intervention. I needed to do something at home," says Currence, who grew up in the Crescent City before taking his culinary skills to the square in Oxford 15 years ago to open City Grocery. "I was contacted for cooking events to raise money. I appreciated the effort, but I knew I wanted to do something at the location of the destruction.

"It was a calling."

As Katrina's floodwater receded, 90-year-old Willie Mae Seaton's home and restaurant were destroyed. The impoverished Tremé neighborhood was now without its gathering place.

So Currence went to work, commuting to New Orleans every weekend and enlisting the aid of 300 volunteers. The Southern Foodways Alliance (SFA) has raised $120,000 (it still needs for $40,000) to bring back the culinary and cultural landmark. During the 2006 SFA Symposium in Oxford, Currence was rewarded for his work with the inaugural "Guardian of the Traditions" award, sponsored by Tabasco.

"We developed the concept for the award in 2005," said John T. Edge, who directs the University of Mississippi-based SFA. "There was a grassroots effort from SFA members in New Orleans, who can't thank John enough for what he has done for New Orleans."

Quiet and reserved, Currence is the last person to take credit for the restoration of the Scotch House.

"I had no idea that this award was coming. It's very flattering, but it's more for the entire volunteer effort," Currence says. "It's incredibly uplifting to help someone who otherwise might have lost their home and business, and to prop them back up."

The story of Willie Mae's has been documented in the SFA film "Scotch and Milk." In the future, the organization will accept similar projects.

"This was a new venture for us; our expertise is documentation," Edge says. "But we also realize that if we can help build a community of like-minded people, we will find a way to contribute," Edge says.

—Mark H. Kelly is the Marketing Communications Manager for Lodge Manufacturing, maker of fine cast iron cookware, in South Pittsburg, Tenn.