A new institute at Dillard University promises to enliven scholarly research on the cultural and social history of the foods of the African diaspora. To be started next spring with $1-million from the late singer Ray Charles, the Institute for the Study of Culinary Cultures will oversee research, academic courses, public programs, and an annual lecture series. African-food studies--like music, art, and other representations of that diaspora--merit more attention in academe, the institute's organizers believe.