Hola Amigos!
People who care about food spend a lot of time asking where it comes from. Is this olive oil Italian or Spanish? (It should be Spanish, people!) Where are the farms that this arugula was grown? What about this salmon, is it farmed or wild?
I love it, but the question of WHERE only tells us so much. My fascinating guest today, culinary historian Michael Twitty, is asking other essential questions about food like: When did certain dishes appear on our tables? Who are the people that brought them to us?
The answers he’s found over the years…they blow my mind. Michael does incredible work preserving forgotten African American foodways. His first book, “The Cooking Gene,” traces his own family’s history and the politics of Southern cuisine. (It also won a James Beard award!) His second book, “Koshersoul,” was released this past summer, and explores the intersection of identity and faith, in particular his own as an African-American man of Jewish faith.
As you’d expect, Michael is amazingly thoughtful about how we discuss race in the food world. Which is a conversation we need to be having, and one we will be having on Longer Tables.
What else? I’ll also be cooking in my kitchen. On this week’s menu: a radicchio salad with warm, garlicky dressing. (The recipe will be available here on Wednesday.) And I’ll be answering tough questions from listeners like you.
And I mean it, really. JUST LIKE YOU. If you want to be on the show, email longertables@joseandres.com with your name and question, and my producers will be in touch!
Michael Twitty: Our food tells the story of how we’re all from somewhere else. Plus José cooks and answers your questions.