Issue 40: A Better and Truer Self—The Rise of Black Cuisine
Kwame Richardson FRSA
Social entrepreneur and lawyer focused on the future of food at Multitude Advisors, part of Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub
Dear Agripreneur Community,
Welcome to the 40th installment of the Agriprenuer.info newsletter, where we provide a monthly round-up of content specifically curated for social entrepreneurs at the intersection of agriculture and technology.
In 1903, W. E. B. Dubois discussed many Black people’s identity as a double consciousness where there is a “sense of always looking at one's self through the eyes of others, of measuring one's soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity.” Over a century later, a recurring theme in this week’s featured content is Black identity issues surrounding the cross-cultural ritual and artifact of eating fried chicken in public around other cultures.
Dubois states that “[t]he history of the American Negro is the history of this strife – this longing to attain self-conscious manhood, to merge his double self into a better and truer self. In this merging he wishes neither of the older selves to be lost.”
In this edition, we explore Black food and hospitality professionals making progress toward this better and truer self through a reimagined dining experience. We will use Issue 35’s framework to explore shaping this experience through changing perception using stories and science that shows the depth of the issues that is creating the Black food experience—as well as engineering and design fine dining solutions that caters to what the Black experience can be.
Perception: Art & Science
Art: What stories can be told to show the depth of the Black Food Experience?
There's some who argue that fried chicken is from West Africa because the antecedent certainly existed in West Africa. You had chickens there. You had a tradition of deep-frying foods. But my look at the historical sources doesn't really indicate that that's how West Africans typically make chicken. They usually use more of a fricassee method where maybe it's quickly fried in some oil, but then it's stewed in some kind of sauce or stew. Then we look at West European sources and there seems to be a lot more evidence that what we call American Fried Chicken has its beginnings there…It seems like people were doing this in parts of Europe and then they brought that to the Americas. Then, enslaved West African cooks, and later African Americans, who really had no tradition of making that particular dish—it becomes part of our tradition because enslaved cooks were forced to make this dish. In no amount of time, it becomes an iconic dish for the American South and people just understand, if you're going to get the very best fried chicken, you're going to have a black person make it. —Adrian Miller, Food historian
Jaega Wise and Melissa Thompson, Fried Chicken: a story of race and identity, The Food Programme (podcast), 14 August 2022, 28 minutes.
My most popular video, by far, is the video where I, in 60 seconds, talked about the connection between black Americans and cognac. Why is it that black Americans love Hennessy and other cognacs so much? There's a real story behind that. I would say one of my most favorite videos is when I discovered that the princess from Princess and the Frog, the Disney movie. Princess Tiana was based on a real black woman in New Orleans, Leah Chase, from the historic Dooky Chase Restaurant in New Orleans. That whole woman, her persona, her energy, that was based on a real person. —KJ Kearney, Founder of Black Food Fridays
Evan Kleiman, Black Food Fridays, remembering Diana Kennedy, vegan butchers, Good Food (podcast), 6 August 2022, 56 minutes.
It was bound to happen in this moment in a certain way. If you grew up over the last 30 years, you watched the rise of a food culture that was previously nonexistent or very subcultural. We garnered a lot of our sensibilities in food from Europe and from France in particular. This still shows up in every almost every fine dining restaurant you go to. The entire way of talking about food--the vocabulary: the way that the kitchen is set up works like chef de cuisine, or stagiaire, or sous chef, the brigade system. You know, these are all things that are derivative of very specific worldview of what is good. I think that it is sort of unsurprising through different iterations of social movements, social upheaval, that people would begin to say, ‘you know what, I’m good on this.’ —Stephen Satterfield, Host of the Netflix docuseries High on the Hog and Founder of Whetstone Media
Lilah Raptopoulos, Chef Mashama Bailey on reclaiming African-American food, FT Weekend (podcast), 13 August 2022, 30 minutes.
Science: What are some of the global issues that is affecting the Black food experience?
We need to start convincing the people to start using new varieties--drought tolerant or heat tolerant varieties. Or to shift to other grains, food types. Also, because the livelihoods depend mainly on the farming of these crops, they should start thinking about diversifying their income. So, what was needed also was to develop new skills and try to create employment. Also, to put programs targeting women because most cases women are the ones left behind when migration if used as one of the adaptation for men. —Dr Balgis Osman-Elasha, Climate Change Expert at African Development Bank
Ruth Alexander, What can we do about drought?, The Food Chain (podcast), 11 August 2022, 26 minutes.
So fonio is a tiny grain. It's the size of couscous. It's that small. It's from the Millard family. It's considered the oldest cultivated grain in Africa. It's one of the fastest maturing grain you can grow up to two months, and it grows in poor soil as the particularity of fonio is drought resistant. I’m from Senegal, a region that's located in the south of the Sahara area called the Sahel. So, it's a dry and arid area. But fonio is a grain that thrives in that kind of environment. Not only thrive, but it regenerates the soil because it had deep roots that adds nutrients to the soil. In addition to that, fonio is also a nutrition powerhouse: its gluten free, is quite nutritious with amino acids that are deficient in most major grains. And as a chef, what’s most important is the fact that formula is very versatile. It goes really fasts—it cooks in 5 minutes and it can be adapted to so many different types of cuisines. So, I really am fascinated by so many positive aspects of fonio. —Pierre Thiam, Senegalese chef
Evan Kleiman, African supergrains, Russian fermentation, Colombian food in Long Beach, Good Food (podcast), 13 August 2022, 56 minutes.
Production: Engineering and Design
Engineering: What data can help mobilize Black people to create experiences?
Black folks are a ready market and…we do have a very solid consumer block. But, I need for us to realize that because the market knows it. —Dr. Psyche Williams-Forson, a Professor and Chair of the Department of American Studies at the University of Maryland College Park
Dani Nierenberg, Dr. Psyche Williams-Forson on Eating While Black, Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg (by Food Tank) (podcast), 18 August 2022, 1 hour, 5 minutes.
Design: How can the Black dining experience be designed to meet high-end expectations?
I was heavily invested, in time and money, into the music business. So, I decided to get into the food business, which is pretty much synonymous--it's entertainment and food and restaurants and hospitality. They're all pretty much synonymous with each other because obviously as an executive, I was always entertaining people at restaurants. Having my meetings, going out with artists, discussing whatever business we had to discuss. At those same restaurants, I said one day I would like to own something like this venue to then share with my relationships from the music business that same experience that I used to get when I was an executive. So that was my mind frame when I decided to diversify into franchising, hospitality and then higher end, fine dining, but a cool high level. The term that I've heard is a clubstaurant. No one is dancing but it's just a vibe. —Robert “Don Pooh” Cummins, Owner of Brooklyn Chop House
Shawn P. Walchef, Robert "Don Pooh" Cummins of Brooklyn Chop House on Opening Restaurant Doors, Entrepreneur Network Podcast, 2 August 2022, 41 minutes.
领英推荐
Other Reference:
Double consciousness, Wikipedia, 4 September 2022, 15:00 EST.
Thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter and follow our journey. Excuse us for the slight delay in this edition. We hope that your month has started off great.
Please forward this newsletter to those who may be interested in this content.
Warm regards
Kwame Richardson
Founder
Multitude Advisors Ltd
RESOURCES AND OTHER CONTENT
Resources
Events
AFS Forum , Kigali, 5-9 Sept
Regenerative Agriculture Summit, Amsterdam, 6-7 Sept
drinktec , Munich, 6-7 Sept
World Agri-Tech , London, 20-21 Sept
Future Food-Tech , London, 22-23 Sept
Other Content
Business Models: Diet for People Living with Diabetes: The Best?Foods?to Choose and More - Healthline
Innovation: Insects could give meaty taste to?food?– and help environment – scientists find-The Guardian
Multitude Advisors Ltd is a company registered in England and Wales (Company №13378243) 2nd Floor, College House, 17 King Edwards Road, Ruislip, London, United Kingdom, HA4 7AE.
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