High on the Hog: A Culinary Journey from Africa to America

[get these nets]

New bourbon released to honor historically Black Greek organizations

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  Brittany and James Penny, owners and founders of 2 Cents Inc., just released their first product, The IX Bourbon Whiskey, which looks to honor the legacy of The Divine Nine historically Black Greek fraternities and sororities.
  2 Cents Inc
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• Jan 22, 2021
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  https://www.bizjournals.com/louisville/bio/41195/Sarah+Shadburne
• James and Brittany Penny said they look to unite humanity one glass at a time.
  
  The couple behind Jeffersontown-based 2 Cents Inc. recently released its first spirits product, The IX Bourbon Whiskey, which pays homage to the heritage of the nine historically Black Greek letter fraternities and sororities that comprise the National Pan-Hellenic Council, which is often referred to as The Divine Nine.
  
  Historical members of The Divine Nine include former associate justice of the Supreme Court Thurgood Marshall and Martin Luther King Jr., who were both members of Alpha Phi Alpha. Katherine Johnson, one of the trailblazing mathematicians who helped NASA’s Mercury and Apollo programs and was depicted in the 2016 Hidden Figures film, was also a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha. Vice President Kamala Harris is also a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha.
  
  James, a member of the Alpha Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., said The Divine Nine’s guiding mantras are scholarship and service, and in that spirit, he said he and his wife wanted to create an alcohol that blended the flavors of the nine unique organizations while also bringing people together through the challenges and uncertainty brought on by Covid-19.
  
  Brittany, a member of the Eta Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., said the bourbon whiskey has a buttery, caramel flavor with undertones of chocolate and a hint of spice. She said she and her husband wanted to make something smooth and a bit sweet as well.
  
  “We believe that while not all spirits are created equal, all people are. So, we want to start our business in a vision of unity for humanity, but also saying that we’re all one people,” James said in an interview. “While you may not be a member of the Divine Nine, you may be a bourbon lover. So, our bourbon is absolutely for everyone, and we want to come together with everyone because if we ever needed something to bring us together, we need it now.”
  
  
  The bourbon is set for launch in the spring, with pre-sale orders beginning in about 60 days through the brand’s website. Bottles will retail for $90 and be available online only.
  
  Eyeing the high-end bourbon market
  James said they will produce about 1,200 bottles of The IX Bourbon Whiskey initially and opted to source their barrels of bourbon rather than distill them on their own. He declined to disclose the bourbon’s source.
  
  James said he and Brittany wanted to release a very small batch bourbon to capitalize on the high-end bourbon market for rarer spirits as they anticipate their bourbon will become a collector’s item as it’s the only bourbon currently that pays homage to The Divine Nine’s more than 90-year history.
  
  The husband-and-wife duo launched their company, 2 Cents Inc., in September 2020 as they were sitting at home in isolation due to Covid-19. Because of the isolation brought on by the pandemic, the couple said they wanted to create something people could enjoy together when it’s safe to gather again.
  
  
  “For me personally, I wanted something that — with everyone losing jobs and jobs being uncertain — I really wanted something to fall back on. We just had our first child and we really wanted something where we could keep our family afloat,” Brittany said in an interview. “Plus, we both love bourbon. The alcohol industry is the one industry that’s remained constant through everything — through wars, pandemics, through everything. So, we wanted to be a part of that.”
  
  The couple operate their business just the two of them, in addition to having regular full-time jobs and a new baby. They said eventually they would look at opening a distillery, but decided against launching one initially due to the high operating costs and the sometimes immature flavor spirits from new distilleries have.
  
  “We wanted to create something in the hope that when we get back together, people can sit around this bourbon. It becomes a conversation piece; if you’re a member of the Divine Nine and you’ve been initiated and put in the community service work, this becomes something that is a part of that legacy,” James said. “If you’re not a member of The Divine Nine, it’s a conversation piece because maybe you’re a bourbon connoisseur. But everybody works at a business, and you may have a member of the Divine Nine somewhere on your team and not even know it.”
  
  
  

 

[get these nets]

Kingsford® Celebrates The Culture Of Black Barbecue With Preserve the Pit™
Initiative Honors Barbecue Traditions Ignited by the Black Community to Fuel Future Generations
Jan 25, 2021
OAKLAND, Calif., Jan. 25, 2021 Kingsford®, a leader in barbecue for more than 100 years, has launched Preserve the Pit™, an initiative focused on preserving the cultural history of Black barbecue and investing in its future.

The Black community ignited American barbecue more than 350 years ago, but without the spark of a new generation at the pit, important stories, recipes and techniques risk being extinguished. Kingsford's commitment is to honor the history and culture of Black barbecue in order to pave the way for its future.

"As the modern-day story of barbecue continues to unfold, it's important to celebrate those who have made it what it is today," said Shaunte Mears-Watkins, vice president of strategy and marketing for Kingsford. "The traditions of Black pitmasters helped bring barbecue into the center of American culture, but their contributions are not always given the spotlight. As a leader in the barbecue industry, Kingsford wants to acknowledge and honor the contributions of the Black community while helping future generations blaze their own trail."

The effort is anchored by the Preserve the Pit Fellowship, which will grant aspiring barbecue professionals an exclusive opportunity for immersive training and one-on-one mentorship with industry leaders throughout 2021.The distinguished Mentor Network includes:

• Kevin Bludso: chef, television personality and owner of Bludso's BBQ, with locations including the flagship Bludso's Bar & Que in Hollywood and a sprawling restaurant and bar called San Antone by Bludso's BBQ in Melbourne, Australia.
• Dr. Howard Conyers: pitmaster and educator on the history of Southern barbecue who will help Kingsford revive stories of Black barbecue and inspire others to make an impact in the barbecue community.
• Devita Davison: executive director of FoodLab, a nonprofit organization that fosters the creation of an equitable local food economy by providing food entrepreneurs with education, peer-to-peer mentoring, and access to market opportunities. 
• Bryan Furman: award-winning pitmaster known for locally sourced, fresh Georgia-grown produce with a blend of unique ingredients. Also, soon-to-be owner of Bryan Furman BBQ, which will be opening soon in Atlanta, Georgia.
• Rashad Jones: owner of Big Lee's BBQ food truck, where he's committed to delivering high-quality products and service to his customers. He was inspired to open his own business by his wife's uncle Leon (aka "Big Lee") who had a special talent for and passion for barbecue. Now, Rashad hopes to carry on that passion to inspire others.
• Amy Mills: owner of 17th Street Barbecue and OnCue Consulting, the only barbecue business consultancy in the world, offering seminars and training in the culinary techniques behind great barbecue.

Those interested in the fellowship are invited to review the eligibility requirements and apply now through March 1, 2021, with the inaugural class of fellows being announced in April 2021. No purchase is necessary to apply or participate. Kingsford and its Mentor Network will select the 2021 class of fellows based on a variety of factors including, but not limited to, their connection to barbecue, contributions to the legacy of the Black barbecue community and commitments to fueling its future. Through the immersive mentorship process, the Fellows will:

• Learn necessary skills with hands-on and immersive industry training
• Create lasting relationships with key leaders and experts in the industry
• Develop a business plan with help from a network of advisors and other business resources
• Receive capital investment to kick-start their business

"Kingsford and I have a shared passion for the deep-rooted culture of barbecue as well as an understanding for the impact that the past has had on today," said Dr. Conyers. "I feel confident that the resources and opportunities presented through Preserve the Pit will inspire future generations to pursue barbecue as a career rather than only a passion."

To apply to the Preserve the Pit Fellowship or to learn more about the initiative, visit PreserveThePit.com. Follow Kingsford on Instagram and Twitter and www.kingsford.com to stay up to date on the latest company news and offerings.

 

[get these nets]

Nellie Murray, Rose Nicaud, Leah Chase and so many African-American women from the 18th-20th century were major contributors to establishing New Orleans world famous Creole cuisine. These pioneering matriarchs tended the fires and stirred the rouxs in some of the most challenging times in American history. Palmer's research reveals the persona and stories of many who were revered and too many that were invisible.

Presenter Bio: Zella Palmer, professor, food historian, cook, author and filmmaker serves as the Chair and Director of the Dillard University Ray Charles Program in African-American Material Culture in New Orleans, Louisiana and sits on the Board of Managers at Hermann-Grima + Gallier Historic Houses.

 

[get these nets]

Martha Lou Gadsden, luminary of downtown Charleston soul food scene, dies at 91

Apr 1, 2021

Martha Lou Gadsden, whose name became synonymous with the finest in traditional Charleston cooking, died on the morning of April 1. She was 91.

Gadsden in 1983 opened Martha Lou’s Kitchen on Morrison Drive following decades of cooking in other people’s restaurant kitchens. The family-run restaurant closed in September 2020, allowing Gadsden to fully retire.


“Right after it closed initially she felt some kind of way, but she was enjoying herself” in recent months, Gadsden’s granddaughter Melanie Alston said. “She was pretty much in good health, so this is devastating. It does not feel real.”

On March 20, Gadsden celebrated her birthday with a family luncheon at Burtons Grill. After the event, she attended her friend’s 93rd birthday party, a drive-through affair in deference to COVID-19 protocols.


“I got her dressed, and she looked so cute,” Alston said. “I dressed her in a khaki suit with a jacket to match, and I like bling, so I put on this blouse with gold and gold slippers. Then I braided her hair back and slicked it back in one nice ponytail.”

According to Alston, family members suspect Gadsden died following a fall. In 2020, she survived a bout with COVID-19 and underwent heart surgery, leading her children and grandchildren to conclude her legendary strength was intact.

Alston said she knew Gadsden was feeling well on Wednesday because she fussed at her when Alston said she’d return her call shortly. Gadsden teased that Alston never calls back right away.

“She was in good spirits; she was in her right mind,” Alston said. “If she cusses you out, that’s how you know she’s well.”

Gadsden was born in Charleston in 1930, but raised by her grandparents in Manning.


She raised nine children before joining the restaurant industry as a server at Ladson House, described during its heyday by The Evening Post as “the only full-service restaurant operated in Charleston by blacks for black patrons.”

During Gadsden’s tenure, the restaurant’s chef was Alice Warren, who in 2020 died following a COVID-19 diagnosis.

Gadsden went on to cook in various restaurants, but had the opportunity in 1983 to start selling hot dogs and soda out of a converted service station with her name on it. She told a Southern Foodways Alliance oral historian that she always valued independence.

“Being independent, you know you got to do it you’re going to do it,” she said in the 2013 interview. “I don’t never get up in the morning and say, “Oh, Lord. I don’t know what today going to be.” I get up with a meaningful attitude. I’m ready to go — ready to go. As long as I can go, I’m going.”

At Martha Lou’s Kitchen, Gadsden served dishes drawn from the Lowcountry home cooking canon, including fried chicken, lima beans, okra soup, beef stew with oxtails, macaroni and collard greens.

“I work by air,” Gadsden said. “I do not measure.”

Her improvised chicken drew national acclaim after magazine writers started descending upon Charleston to chronicle its upscale restaurants. Chef Sean Brock, formerly of Neighborhood Dining Group, was diligent about directing media types to the distinctive squat pink building that housed Gadsden’s operation.

“In the cosmology of Southern cooking, Martha Lou’s is no dwarf planet,” The New York Times’ Sam Sifton decreed in 2011. “It is close to the sun itself.”

For two years, Alston owned Martha Lou’s Kitchen II in North Charleston, offering dishes similar to those that made her grandmother famous.

Since closing that spinoff, Alston has contemplated other projects. But the outpouring of support following the original location’s closure persuaded her to focus on reviving her grandmother’s restaurant.

She had planned to surprise Gadsden with the news

 

[im_sleep]

@Get These Nets you see this?


Definitely marking this on my calendar

 

[get these nets]

@Get These Nets you see this?


Definitely marking this on my calendar

Great news. Hadn't heard about this at all.

 

[get these nets]

Among the staple foods most welcomed on southern tables—and on tables around the world—rice is without question the most versatile. As Michael W. Twitty observes, depending on regional tastes, rice may be enjoyed at breakfast, lunch, and dinner; as main dish, side dish, and snack; in dishes savory and sweet. Filling and delicious, rice comes in numerous botanical varieties and offers a vast range of scents, tastes, and textures depending on how it is cooked. In some dishes, it is crunchingly crispy; in others, soothingly smooth; in still others, somewhere right in between. Commingled or paired with other foods, rice is indispensable to the foodways of the South.

As Twitty’s fifty-one recipes deliciously demonstrate, rice stars in Creole, Acadian, soul food, Low Country, and Gulf Coast kitchens, as well as in the kitchens of cooks from around the world who are now at home in the South. Exploring rice’s culinary history and African diasporic identity, Twitty shows how to make the southern classics as well as international dishes—everything from Savannah Rice Waffles to Ghananian Crab Stew. As Twitty gratefully sums up, “Rice connects me to every other person, southern and global, who is nourished by rice’s traditions and customs.” Michael W. Twitty is a culinary historian and author of the James Beard Award-winning The Cooking Gene: A Journey through African American Culinary History in the Old South. Co-presented by the Prince George's County Memorial Library System and Prince George's County Human Relations Commission.

 

[get these nets]

 

[$cam-U-Well_Jack$on]

Informative.

 

[get these nets]

Definitely marking this on my calendar

Trailer out

 

[im_sleep]

Trailer out

They brought out all the heavy hitters for this one.

 

[IllmaticDelta]

Most outsiders know nothing about the afram seafood cuisine/history

Thomas Downing

Downing's Oyster House
Before New York was called the Big Apple, it could have been called the Big Oyster. New York was famous for its oysters. And Thomas Downing, a free black man, owned the most famous oyster house of all. Bankers, politicians, stockbrokers, lawyers, businessmen, and socialites flocked to Downing’s Oyster House to eat raw, fried, or stewed oysters, oyster pie, fish with oyster sauce, or poached turkey stuffed with oysters. As the crowd of power brokers ate and made deals under the chandeliers, Thomas’s son George lead escaping slaves to the basement. There they were safe from the “blackbirders,” or bounty hunters, who were roaming the streets in search of runaways.

From 1825 to 1860, Thomas, and his son George T. Downing were part of the Underground Railroad to Canada and freedom. They were also leaders in the growing abolitionist movement. In 1836, Thomas helped found the all-black United Anti-Slavery Society of the City of New York. The next year he began petitioning New York State for equal suffrage for black men. He took one petition after another to Albany. "If one petition failed, another would be presented," he said. When not a single high school in the city would accept African American students, he helped found the first schools that would accept them. According to his son, Thomas Downing was an "extremely active" man who "knew not tire."

When Thomas Downing died on April 10, 1866, the New York Chamber of Commerce closed for the day out of respect.

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How Thomas Downing became the black Oyster King of New York

http://play.publicradio.org/website...ents/2018/03/16/20180316_thomasdowning_64.mp3

click^

Oysters are often seen as a luxury food now, but throughout much of early American history they were so abundant that people from all classes regularly ate them. In coastal cities, you could have them on the street or in dingy bars for practically nothing. In late 1800s New York, a man named Thomas Downing built an empire out of an oyster bar. But here's the thing: he was a black man doing this during the era of slavery. Joanne Hyppolite, curator at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, shared Downing's story with Francis Lam. If their discussion makes you hungry for oysters, satisfy your craving with our recipe for Classic Creamy Oyster Stew.

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Francis Lam: Can you tell us about Thomas Downing, who he was and how he made his fortune in oysters?

Joanne Hyppolite: Thomas Downing was a restaurateur, a caterer, and an abolitionist. He was many things, but he’s most well-known for his oyster restaurant called Thomas Downing’s Oyster House in New York City that was established during the 19th century.

FL: Where did Downing come from? How did he become an oysterman?

JH: Thomas Downing was an African-American man. His parents were enslaved people who were set free by their Virginia slave masters. He grew up a free man on Chincoteague Island, which is on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. His family owned property on the island, and their lifestyle revolved around clamming, digging, raking oysters, and fishing. That was his family’s everyday livelihood.

FL: How did he come to New York?

JH: He followed the troops north out of Virginia after the War of 1812 and spent about seven years in Philadelphia where he ran an oyster bar. So, he moved from raking oysters to working in an oyster bar. And then in 1819, he shows up in the New York City census listed as an oysterman. This was an occupation that many African-American men held in New York. He would have gone out on a boat or a schooner and helped harvest some of the oysters from the many beds in New York City’s waters and brought them back, and either sold them to the various marketplaces that then sold them to restaurants or would peddle them on the streets. We’re not exactly sure, but he was definitely harvesting them at that period of time.


Joanne Hyppolite
Photo provided by Smithsonian Institution

FL: Do we know how he goes from there to having an extraordinarily successful restaurant?

JH: By the mid-1820s, we know he’s opened an oyster refractory – that’s what they’re called at that time – or an oyster cellar; they’re called cellars because you actually go down the stairs to enter these spaces. This is another occupation that a number of African-Americans had. He wasn’t the only African man who owned an oyster cellar, but he quickly distinguished himself for having a cellar like no other. He operated two properties that were adjoined to each other on Broad Street, and that gave him an expansive footprint. These other cellars were known as rough and tumble places with dim lights and a crowd. You were never sure if you were safe with your goods in these establishments. But Thomas Downing had a large dining area with curtains and fine carpet. He was known for having a chandelier in his space – this was considered fine dining. And his clientele were largely white men, men of means, merchants, bankers, Wall Street officials and newspapermen.

FL: His place became the watering hole for the elite, right? That was their spot.

JH: Yes, that’s where he really distinguished himself. He owned perhaps the best-known oyster restaurant in New York City – compared to any white or black person at that time – and it was the place to be for visiting dignitaries, travelers from different countries, merchants, and where men of means would bring their wives to eat.

FL: Is that unusual at that time?

JH: It is unusual because the place had to be respectable. That is what distinguished his establishment from all the other oyster cellars. You want to bring them to a place where a lady’s sensibilities are not going to be disturbed, right?

FL: This is interesting because we have to put ourselves in the mindset of the 1800s. Today if we think of an oyster restaurant, we automatically assume it to be nice. Oysters are expensive, they’re an elite food, but back then, oysters were an everyday food. They were an everyman food. And for him to lavish this kind of care, attention and luxury onto it was unique.

JH: Oysters were incredibly inexpensive back then. They were eaten by all classes. They were so plentiful that for about six cents, you could get a dozen. And when Thomas Downing enters this market, he finds a way to distinguish himself by making it a place where – as the upper class are looking for a sense of refinement and class in places where they dine – he finds his niche.

FL: And he was incredibly successful. He owned the place that the elite came to, and I heard that when he passed away, the New York City Chamber of Commerce came to his funeral. Is that true?

JH: Yes. They closed for the day for his funeral. He certainly gained a lot of social and political capital because of the clientele that he served. These men of means had connections throughout New York City. They seemed to have quite a bit of respect for him, and when Thomas Downing occasionally got into trouble, he could pull these connections that he had to back him up and support him.

For instance, there are stories of other African-American oystermen who owned more ordinary cellars. And currency during that period of time wasn’t always stable. There were fake levels of currencies, fake money, that people would use to pay for their food, and you could spot them right away. None of that seemed to happen at Thomas Downing’s oyster house. He knew that he could get the backup of his own clientele to support him if he was calling a particular currency of a customer into question, whereas other African-American men didn’t have that kind of support and often had to deal with the fact that they were being swindled.

How Thomas Downing became the black Oyster King of New York | The Splendid Table


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By 1835, Virginia native Thomas Downing had the most popular oyster house in New York City.

The African American restaurateur was known for his oyster pie, and fried and raw oysters; he shipped them to England, where Queen Victoria was so impressed that she complimented him with a gold watch. Downing’s establishment hosted the ball when New York welcomed the great English novelist Charles dikkens to the city.

His love of oysters came from growing up in Chincoteague, in an African American family that farmed and harvested oysters. Many African Americans, men and women, free and enslaved, have worked the waterways of the Chesapeake since the days of slavery, and that heritage will be honored at “Stirring the Pot: A Watermen and Whiskey Dinner,” on Feb. 25.

The event, at Sweetwater Cuisine in Virginia Beach, will feature four dishes created by local chefs using the seafood of the region’s waters. The liquor will also be familiar, provided by Copper and Oak Craft Spirits of Portsmouth, which uses locally sourced ingredients for its bourbon, gin and white whiskey.

Southern Grit Magazine is sponsoring the dinner, the second of its “Stirring the Pot” events to celebrate African American culinary histories that are often forgotten.

Last October, its evening honoring James Hemings, Thomas Jefferson’s and America’s first French-trained chef, sold out.

Southern Grit managing editor Debra Freeman said that as her group thought about other themes, they realized they had to do something related to the water. Africans and their descendants not only worked the waterways, including digging canals, harvesting seafood, working in shucking houses and piloting boats, but also innovated new recipes with the fare.

“But no one was really telling these stories,” Freeman said.

Freeman will discuss the Hobson area of Suffolk, which became a bustling oyster village of African American families after the Civil War. With the widespread damage caused by the war, oystering and fishing were among the few industries that thrived during the Reconstruction period.


Wisteria Perry, manager of student programs at The Mariners’ Museum and Park in Newport News, will talk during the dinner about the work African Americans performed along the coast and their foodways (the eating habits and culinary practices of a people, region or historical period).

She said free and enslaved African Americans would have grilled, baked and boiled foods on an open hearth, and slave families supplemented the basic rations from their owners with fresh catch. During the slave trade, Africans brought foods with them – including rice, black-eyed peas, okra and yams – that are now considered Southern staples.

“One of the big things about this area is that the water connects us; it can be through cultural or political aspects, and it can also connect us through our food,” Perry said. “This is not just African American foodways, but this is American foodways.”

The Virginian-Pilot - We are currently unavailable in your region

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The Fish That Built Beaufort

Remembering the Menhaden Fishermen of Beaufort – Our State Magazine

Leading up to the Civil War, about 3,000 African-Americans were employed on whaling ships in various roles. One of them, John Thompson, born into slavery in 1812 in Maryland, escaped and made his way north but feared recapture, writing, "I finally concluded best for me to go to sea." He spent several years on the whaler Milford, writing on the taking of whales and the exotic lands they visited. He ends his memoirs likening his strong Christian faith to a voyage on perilous seas.

Like shipbuilding, sailing, and whaling, taking oysters and crabs from the Bay—the mainstay of Chesapeake watermen—offered a relatively good living for African-Americans, albeit it one fraught with prejudice and legal barriers. Early 19th century laws designed to limit the ability of free African-Americans to participate and succeed in many maritime trades (such as not being able to serve as captain on a boat of any significant size) gave way to equally repellent Jim Crow laws in the mid-20th century. Despite such impediments, African-Americans continued to practice their traditional craft with an abiding love into the modern age. In a 1998 interview with Maryland Sea Grant, one veteran waterman said, "Nothing like working on the water for me. You can get up in the morning and see the sun when it's coming up."

African-American men and women fished the Potomac River, Chesapeake Bay and other inland waters in the mid-Atlantic region. Here, netted shad are being beached for collection. Photo: Bain News Service, 1915, courtesy of the Library of Congress

For I Knew a Ship from Stem to Stern

 

[BaviKingVA]

I think a lot of the kidnapped Africans were muslims. Many of them had to forgo their religion just to survive, plus the Euros erased a lot of their native beliefs and coverted them to Christianity.

 

[Geode]

Trailer out

Enjoying this now. I really gotta get down to the Sea islands before the culture gets priced out.

 

[im_sleep]

Watched it over the last couple nights. It was as great as I expected it be.

That moment with Stephen and Dr. Harris at the Door of No Return had me like


I gotta get some of that Philadelphia Pepper Pot, or find out how to make it myself.


BJ Dennis is that dude, I think when it’s all said and done his legacy will be on par with Edna Lewis, Leah Chase, etc. I gotta get down to his new restaurant when it opens.

Gullah Grub too, I been wanting to check out Bill Green’s cooking for years now.

Love how they set the record straight on Texas BBQ too. I’ll take East Texas BBQ over any other region/style.