We are at day 40 leading to May 6th--the final day of our campaign for The Cooking Gene. I am sure a lot of people want the food pics and the recipes now, and the how to on this project. Unfortunately I have to be tentative about that until we know we will be able …
The Ground on Which I Cook: The Cooking Gene–an Appeal
The Grounds on Which I Cook: What The Cooking Gene Project Means For the Past and Future of American Food In 1996, one of my intellectual heroes, August Wilson delivered a pointed, powerful and inspiring speech called, “The Ground On Which I Stand,” in which he challenged critic Robert Brustein on his views on diversity …
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We Made the Southern Foodways Alliance Blog!
Check us out on the Southern Foodways Alliance Blog:http://southernfoodways.blogspot.com/2012/03/southern-discomfort-tour-led-by-michael.htmlWelcome SFA members to The Cooking Gene Blog! We need you! Spread the word and please be sure to visit the Indiegogo Campaign site: http://www.indiegogo.com/The-Cooking-Gene-Project-The-Southern-Discomfort-Tour
“Just Tell Them You’re the Cook”
About two years ago or so I was doing a holiday plantation meal demonstration at Stratford Hall Plantation. I spent the whole day in the kitchen literally slaving over hot pots and pans and a blazing hearth fire. As each crowd came in I explained what plantation life was like for the enslaved during Christmas. …
The Cooking Gene: Our Press Release
For Immediate Release: Contact: Michael W. Twitty E-mail: thecookinggene@gmail.com Phone: 240-330-9291 Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? “Southern Discomfort" Tour Back to the Old South An African American Culinary Historian Searches for his Family’s Food Roots and Slaveowners. Washington, D.C. –From May through July 2012, culinary historian Michael W. Twitty will travel from Maryland to Louisiana tracing his ancestry across …
Meet Andi Cumbo: “You Will Not Be Forgotten”
Writer Andrea (Andi) Cumbo has a project in the same family of The Cooking Gene entitled "You Will Not Be Forgotten," a fascinating project that examines the history of the plantation where she lives in Fluvanna County, Virginia. It just so happens that Andi knows people with the surname Booker, which represents a large group …
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Explaining: Looking for My Families’ Slaveowners
This project is sacred to me and the people who have elected to spend time working on it with me. Making that video was not easy. Although I treated it as though it were a matter of routine, I began to feel emotionally wound up and hurt as I stammered out the names. I realized …
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Looking for My Families’ Slaveowners
The New Family Heirloom: My Mom’s Pot Roast
There are things that came down to us through slavery and there are things that we perfected as a family in freedom. This is one of the best things I've ever eaten and it was a mainstay of our Sunday Dinner's growing up. As much as I want this project to document our culinary journey …
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Watch Blair Underwood/The Nike Galaxy Shoe/And Why I Want this Project to Succeed
"African Americans are innately wired to want to know who we are. Its almost being like an adopted child."---Sharon Malone, commentator, "Slavery by Another Name." A few days ago I almost gave up on The Cooking Gene. I will admit, I am an impatient man. I am not attracting significant support from African Americans. I …
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The Cooking Gene 