Cooking Gene, The: Michael W. Twitty

A Journey Through African American Culinary History in the Old South
Paperback
COOKING/History
Illustrations: 8-page color insert; 22 line illustrations

Culinary historian Michael W. Twitty brings a fresh perspective to our most divisive cultural issue, race, in this illuminating memoir of Southern cuisine and food culture that traces his ancestry—both black and white—through food, from Africa to America and from slavery to freedom “Fascinating… A valuable addition to culinary and Old South historiography with lip-smacking period recipes.”—Library Journal (starred review) ###

Southern food is integral to the American culinary tradition, yet the question of who “owns” it is one of the most provocative touchpoints in our ongoing struggles over race. In this unique memoir, Twitty takes readers to the white-hot center of this fight, tracing the roots of his own family and the charged politics surrounding the origins of soul food, barbecue, and all Southern cuisine. Twitty travels from the tobacco and r