“You can tell a lot about a people from their plate,” Micheal Twitty, a culinary historian, said during a discussion about his award-winning book “Koshersoul” on Jan. 27 in the Jones Room at Robert W. Woodruff Library.
Named the Everett Family Foundation Book of the Year at 2022 National Jewish Book Awards, “Koshersoul” explores the relationship between the Jewish and African diasporas through their food. Twitty, who is African American and Jewish, argues in his book that the cuisine and identity of those two communities “form a deep connective tissue,” according to the Jewish Book Council.
The book dives into discussions on food and its relationship to theology, identity, heritage and culture. Twitty places the foods of the African Atlantic and global Jewish diasporas in conversation with each other, providing a historic background for recipes that combine both African and Jewish foods.
Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion hosted the talk as a part of their series on identity, inclusion and sense of belonging, a speaker-based series that celebrates the various identities within the Emory community.
Vice Provost for Diversity and Inclusion Carol Henderson began the talk with an acknowledgement that the land on which the event was held belongs to the Muscogee (Mvskoke) Creek and Cherokee people. She also acknowledged that the enslaved labor of people of African ancestry helped build Emory University and “that their descendents, past and living, participate in the economy of this campus.”
Following the acknowledgements, Judith London Evans Director of the Tam Institute of Jewish Studies Miriam Udel, said that “in holding the heaviness of this day, we wanted to place an emphasis on resilience.”
Udel began the conversation by interviewing Twitty on his journey into African American foodways, how his identities shape his experience with culinary history and what Koshersoul meant to him.
“Koshersoul is an evolving, dynamic approach to the way Jews of African descent celebrate their lives, celebrate each other and teach you about our identities,” Twitty said.
Twitty mentioned that he doesn’t want to be the “CEO” of Koshersoul, as this blocks out other voices.
“There are different kinds of Koshersoul,” Twitty said. “Number one would be the form that people play with who do this work. If somebody wants to write their own literature about the subject, fantastic. That just means this is alive and real.”
A second form of Koshersoul is the kosher cooking of food on the African continent, Twitty said. He mentioned that, on the African continent, Koshersoul cuisine can be found in various communities, such as Ethiopian communities, brown communities, Asian communities and South African communities.
Twitty won the 2018 James Beard Foundation Book Award for Book of the Year for his memoir, “The Cooking Gene.” Courtesy of Emory University
However, Koshersoul cuisine could also be found anywhere, Twitty added.
“There are deep connections to the way that Africans impose certain spiritual boundaries and prescriptions on their food, regardless of religious or ethnic or tribal designations,” Twitty said.
A third form of Koshersoul is the way Jewish African American people eat. During the talk, Twitty explored the conversation that occurs in the African American Jewish community when members learn to make southern staples — such as rice and peas or jerk chicken — Kosher.
In 2011, Twitty launched the Cooking Gene Project, where he explored dozens of restored plantations along a 4,500-mile journey, delivering lectures and cooking authentic Koshersoul cuisine along the way. On the tour, he supported organic, local and sustainable food in a variety of Southern communities, especially communities of color.
Twitty won the prestigious 2018 James Beard Foundation Book Award for Book of the Year for “The Cooking Gene,” which is based on the project. The book is a memoir of Southern cuisine and food culture, which Twitty uses to trace his ancestry from Africa to the United States and from slavery to freedom.
During a conversation between Udel and Twitty, he emphasized the importance of food in his many cultures.
“Food became this way of taking joy in my culture,” Twitty said. “That is the solution to the trauma. It helps us tell stories. It helps us remember.”
Adam Rudt (26C) said he enjoyed attending the talk.
“I’m pretty active in Jewish life on campus and I just love it when we see events like this pop up,” Rudt said. “You’ve got to come and show support and take advantage of it.”
The event concluded with a book signing of “Koshersoul” and various food samples from Koshersoul cuisine, including chicken lollipops and jollof rice.
