Elevating the visibility of black cookbook authors

American cuisine, especially that of the American South, owes a great deal to the influence of black cooks. As Smithsonian Magazine explains, it was often enslaved black chefs who created the feasts that gave the South its reputation for hospitality. James Beard Book Award-winner Michael Twitty further explores this topic, showing us how chefs of African descent laid the groundwork for American foodways. Eater has an excerpt from Twitty’s book The Cooking Gene, which was named the JBF’s Cookbook of the Year in 2018.

The achievements of these chefs and their vital role in developing American cuisine have been overlooked both in history books and in the world of cookbook publishing, despite the fact that black cooks and chefs have been writing cookbooks from at least the mid-1800s, such as Malinda Russell’s Domestic Cook Book. The University of Michigan provides a digital version of the only known copy of that 1866 cookbook free to the public.

Change has been slow to arrive and recognition now cannot fully compensate for omissions of the past, but in recent years there has been an uptick in the number of cookbooks and/or memoirs by authors of African descent. We want to highlight some of the excellent books from the past several years (and other important titles you may be interested in). You can also read our past articles on black chefs who changed the history of cooking, and another on unsung heroes in the culinary world.

• Jubilee: Recipes from Two Centuries of African American Cooking by Toni Tipton-Martin (winner of the 2020 James Beard award for best American cookbook)
• New World Sourdough: With Recipes for Creative Homemade Fermented Breads by Bryan Ford (pub 6/16/2020)
• The Dooky Chase Cookbook by Leah Chase
• Princess Pamela’s Soul Food Cookbook: A Mouth-Watering Treasury of Afro-American Recipes by Pamela Strobel
• The Africa Cookbook: Tastes of a Continent by Jessica B. Harris
• Sylvia’s Family Soul Food Cookbook: From Hemingway, South Carolina, To Harlem by Sylvia Woods
• Rachel Ama’s Vegan Eats: Tasty Plant-Based Recipes for Every Day by Rachel Ama
• The New Way to Cake: Simple Recipes with Exceptional Flavor by Benjamina Ebuehi
• Field Peas to Foie Gras: Southern Recipes with a French Accent and other titles from Jennifer Booker
• Sweet Potato Soul: 100 Easy Vegan Recipes for the Southern Flavors of Smoke, Sugar, Spice, and Soul by Jenné Claiborne
• Cooking Solo: The Joy of Cooking for Yourself by Klancy Miller
• The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook by Cheryl Day and Griffith Day
• Black Girl Baking: Wholesome Recipes Inspired by a Soulful by Jerrelle Guy
• In Bibi’s Kitchen: The Recipes and Stories of Grandmothers from the Eight African Countries that Touch the Indian Ocean by Hawa Hassan and Julia Turshen (out this fall)
• Notes from a Young Black Chef: A Memoir by Kwame Onwuachi and Joshua David Stein (JBF and IACP cookbook award nominee)
• Ethiopia: Recipes and Traditions from the Horn of Africa by Yohanis Gebreyesus and Jeff Koehler (winner of the 2020 James Beard Cookbook Award in the International category)
• Grandbaby Cakes: Modern Recipes, Vintage Charm, Soulful Memories by Jocelyn Delk Adams
• Modern Pressure Cooking: More Than 100 Incredible Recipes and Time-Saving Techniques to Master Your Pressure Cooker by Bren Herrera
• Meals, Music, and Muses: Recipes from My African American Kitchen by Alexander Smalls and Veronica Chambers
• Between Harlem and Heaven: Afro-Asian-American Cooking for Big Nights, Weeknights, and Every Day by Alexander Smalls and JJ Johnson
• The Ultimate Panini Press Cookbook: 205 Perfect-Every-Time Recipes for Making Panini – And Lots of Other Things – On Your Panini Press or Other Countertop Grill by Kathy Strahs
• My Life on a Plate by Kelis Rogers
• Hallelujah! The Welcome Table: A Lifetime of Memories with Recipes and Great Food, All Day Long: Cook Splendidly, Eat Smart by Maya Angelou
• Mixtape Potluck: A Cookbook by Questlove and Ben Greenman and Lauren Schaefer
• The Full Plate: Flavor-Filled, Easy Recipes for Families with No Time and a Lot to Do and The Seasoned Life: Food, Family, Faith, and the Joy of Eating Well by Ayesha Curry
• Son of a Southern Chef: Cook with Soul by Lazarus Lynch
• Just Peachy and Let’s Brunch: 100 Recipes for the Best Meal of the Week by Belinda Smith-Sullivan
• A Real Southern Cook: In Her Savannah Kitchen by Dora Charles
• Soul Food Love: Healthy Recipes Inspired by One Hundred Years of Cooking in a Black Family by Alice Randall and Caroline Randall Williams
• Sweet Home Café Cookbook: A Celebration of African American Cooking by NMAAHC
• Carla Hall’s Soul Food: Everyday and Celebration and many others by Carla Hall
• Vegetable Kingdom: The Abundant World of Vegan Recipes and other titles from Bryant Terry
• Flavors of Africa: Discover Authentic Family Recipes from All Over the Continent by Evi Aki
• 30-Minute Low-Carb Dinners: 75 Easy-to-Prepare Meals that are Healthy, Delicious and Fast by Valerie Azinge
• The Rise: Black Cooks and the Soul of American Food and other titles by Marcus Samuelsson
• Soul: A Culinary Evolution in 150 Recipes by Todd Richards
• Kevin Belton’s New Orleans Celebrations and other titles by Kevin Belton
• Brown Sugar Kitchen: New-Style, Down-Home Recipes from Sweet West Oakland by Tanya Holland and Jan Newberry
• The Up South Cookbook: Chasing Dixie in a Brooklyn Kitchen by Nicole Taylor
• Hibiscus: Discover Fresh Flavours from West Africa with the Observer Rising Star of Food by Lopè Ariyo
• Tasting Rome: Fresh Flavors and Forgotten Recipes from an Ancient City by Kristina Gill and Katie Parla

Edit to add: if you are planning to purchase any of these books, please consider supporting one of these black-owned bookstores:

• A Different Booklist, Toronto, Ont.
• The African American Literature Book Club, online
• AfriWare Books, Maywood, Ill.
• Ashay by the Bay, Vallejo, Calif.
• Babycakes Book Stack, Online
• Between the Lines Bookstore, Baton Rouge, La.
• Beyond Barcodes Bookstore, Kokomo, Ind.
• Black World Books, Killeen, Tex.
• Blackstone Bookstore & Cultural Center, Ypsilanti, Mich.
• Book Boutique, Atlanta, Ga.
• Brian Lair Books, South Bend, Ind.
• Brave and Kind Books, Decatur, Ga.
• Cafe Con Libros, Brooklyn, N.Y.
• Carol’s Bookstore, Sacramento, Calif
• Cultured Books, St. Petersburg, Fla.
• Da Book Joint, Chicago, Ill.
• Dare Books, Longwood, Fla.
• Detroit Book City, Southfield, Mich.
• Enda’s Booktique, Duncanville, Tex.
• Eso Wan Books, Los Angeles
• Eye See Me, University City, Mo.
• For Keeps Books, Atlanta, Ga.
• Frugal Bookstore, Roxbury, Mass.
• Fulton Street Books & Coffee, Tulsa, Ok.
• Harambee Books, Alexandria, Va.
• Harriett’s Bookshop, Philadelphia, Pa.
• Hakim’s Bookstore, Philadelphia, Pa.
• Loyalty Bookstore, Washington, D.C., and Silver Spring, Md.
• Lushena Books, Bensenville, Ill.
• Mahogany Books, Washington, D.C.
• Marcus Books, Oakland, Calif.
• Medu Bookstore, Atlanta, Ga.
• MeJah Books, Claymont, Del.
• Mocha Books, Tulsa, Okla.
• Nubian Bookstore, Morrow, Ga.
• Olive Tree Books-n-Voices, Springfield, Mass.
• Pyramid Art, Books, & Custom Framing, Little Rock, Ark.
• Revolution Books, Berkeley, Calif.
• Riches in Reading, Maryland City, Md.
• Sankofa, Washington, D.C.
• Semicolon Bookstore, Chicago, Ill.
• Sister’s Uptown Bookstore, New York, N.Y.
• Sistah Scifi, Online
• Smith & Hannon, Cincinnati, Ohio
• Solid State Books, Washington, D.C.
• Source Booksellers, Detroit, Mich.
• Source of Knowledge, Newark, N.J.
• The Dock, Fort Worth, Tx.
• The Black Reserve, Lansdale, Pa.
• The Key Bookstore, Hartford, Conn.
• The Listening Tree, Decatur, Ga.
• The Lit. Bar, Bronx, N.Y.
• Turning Page Bookshop, Goose Creek, S.C.
• Willa’s Books, Kansas City, Mo.
• White Whale Bookstore, Pittsburgh, Pa.
• Uncle Bobbie’s Books and Cafe, Philadelphia, Penn.
• Underground Books, Sacramento, Calif.
• Yoruba Bookstore, Brooklyn, N.Y.
• Zawadi Books, Columbus, Ohio