The Taste of Country Cooking by Edna Lewis

The crab salad questions the idea of “crabs in a barrel” trying to pull each other down, instead positing that they are trying to help each other get out.

The corn in cornbread points to the enslaved Africans and Indigenous people who were at the foundation of building wealth for others. Each component tells a story about people, politics, and history, a hallmark of the Ghetto Gastro approach. Take their quintessential recipe known as the Triple Cs: cornbread stacked with crab salad and caviar.

Ghetto Gastro Presents Black Power Kitchen by Jon Gray, Pierre Serrao, and Lester Walker with Osayi EndolynĬhefs Pierre Serrao and Lester Walker and CEO Jon Gray, are Ghetto Gastro: a culinary collective that uses art, activism, and fashion to bring their food from the “Bronx to the world.” In this groundbreaking book from the trio are intentional, delicious, often plant-based recipes rooted in the African diaspora. These are just two examples of the flavorful and innovative recipes reflecting the diasporic palate of this book. Likewise, jerk chicken ramen is chef Suzanne Barr’s ode to Jamaica-the birthplace of her parents-and her love of travel. Chef Mashama Bailey of The Grey in Savannah, Georgia, chronicles her journey to enjoying greens, including her own recipe for smoked collards braised in onions and dressed in pepper vinegar, a combination of West African and Southern flavor profiles. Terry taps a who's who of Black chefs, bakers, mixologists, writers, and culinarians to contribute a wide span of offerings, each with a story to tell. The featured recipes trace our steps between and around continents. In its pages are themed playlists aligned with chapters entitled “Black Future” and “Migrations” and illuminating pieces about the Black church, self-care, and queerness. This isn’t just a cookbook but a whole experience: Chef Bryant Terry’s curated anthology celebrates the foods of the African diaspora through recipes, art, music, and insightful essays. Black Food: Stories, Art & Recipes From Across the African Diaspora Edited by Bryant Terry

The Taste of Country Cooking by Edna Lewis