The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African American Culinary History in the Old South

2018 James Beard Foundation Book of the Year | 2018 James Beard Foundation Book Award Winner in Writing | Nominee for the 2018 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award in Nonfiction | #75 on The Root 100 2018

A renowned culinary historian offers a fresh perspective on our most divisive cultural issue, race, in this illuminating culinary memoir of Southern cuisine and food culture that traces his ancestry—both black and white—through food, from Africa to America and slavery to freedom.

Southern food is integral to the American culinary tradition, yet the question of who "owns" it is one of the most provocative touch points in our ongoing struggles over race. In this unique memoir, culinary historian Michael W. Twitty takes readers to the white-hot center of this fight, tracing the roots of his own family and the charged politics surrounding the origins of soul food, barbecue, and all Southern cuisine.

From the tobacco and rice farms of colonial times to plantation kitchens and backbreaking cotton fields, Twitty tells his family story through the foods that enabled his ancestors’ survival across three centuries. He sifts through stories, recipes, genetic tests, and historical documents, and travels from Civil War battlefields in Virginia to synagogues in Alabama to Black-owned organic farms in Georgia in his search for American culinary history.

As he takes us through his ancestral culinary history, Twitty suggests that healing may come from embracing the discomfort of the Southern past. Along the way, he reveals a truth that is more than skin deep—the power that food has to bring the kin of the enslaved and their former slaveholders to the table, where they can discover the real America together.

Illustrations by Stephen Crotts

In this James Beard Book of the Year, Twitty presents a riveting exploration of American identity, offering:

• A Groundbreaking Culinary Memoir: Follow a renowned culinary historian on his personal journey, tracing his family story from Africa to America and from slavery to freedom through food.
• Southern Food and Race: Go to the white-hot center of the fight over who “owns” Southern food, exposing the charged politics surrounding the origins of soul food, barbecue, and regional cuisine.
• Deep Ancestral Research: Sift through compelling stories, family recipes, genetic tests, and historical documents on travels from Civil War battlefields in Virginia to synagogues in Alabama.
• A Path Toward Healing: Discover the power food has to bring the kin of the enslaved and their former slaveholders to the table, where they can embrace the discomfort of the past and find the real America together.

Winner of the 2018 James Beard Foundation's Book Of The Year Award!

Culinary historian Michael W. Twitty brings a fresh perspective to our most divisive cultural issue, race, in this illuminating memoir of Southern cuisine and food culture that traces his ancestry—both black and white—through food, from Africa to America and from slavery to freedom.

Southern food is integral to the American culinary tradition, yet the question of who “owns” it is one of the most provocative touchpoints in our ongoing struggles over race. In this unique memoir, Twitty takes readers to the white-hot center of this fight, tracing the roots of his own family and the charged politics surrounding the origins of soul food, barbecue, and all Southern cuisine. 

Twitty travels from the tobacco and rice farms of colonial times to plantation kitchens and backbreaking cotton fields to tell of the struggles his family faced and how food enabled his ancestors’ survival across three centuries. He sifts through stories, recipes, genetic tests, and historical documents, and visits Civil War battlefields in Virginia, synagogues in Alabama, and black-owned organic farms in Georgia.

As he takes us through his ancestral culinary history, Twitty suggests that healing may come from embracing the discomfort of the South’s past. Along the way, he reveals a truth that is more than skin deep—the power of food to bring the kin of the enslaved and their former slaveholders to the table, where they can discover the real America together.

“Twitty ably joins past and present, puzzling out culinary mysteries along the way… An exemplary, inviting exploration and an inspiration for cooks and genealogists alike.” - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Slavery made the world of our ancestors incredibly remote to us.  Thankfully, the work of Michael W. Twitty helps restore our awareness of their struggles and successes bite by bite, giving us a true taste of the past.” - Dr. Henry Louis Gates, host of PBS’ Many Rivers to Cross and Finding Your Roots

“Written in Michael W. Twitty’s no-nonsense style and interlaced with moments of levity, The Cooking Gene is gritty, compelling, and enlightening – a mix of personal narrative and the history of race, politics, economics and enslavement that will broaden notions of African-American culinary identity.” - Toni Tipton-Martin, James Beard Award-winning author of The Jemima Code

“In this amazing memoir of food culture, Twitty draws the connection between Hemings and many other historic individuals and contemporary notions of southern cuisine that have ignored a neglected and often-bitter past. This is a joyous journey of discovery by a man with obvious love for history and the culinary arts.” - Booklist (starred review)

“Fascinating.… A valuable addition to culinary and Old South historiography with lip-smacking period recipes.” - Library Journal (starred review)

“Fascinating.” - New York Times Book Review

“Twitty has accomplished something remarkable with The Cooking Gene... It’s a book to save, reread, and share until everyone you know has a working understanding of the human stories and pain behind some of America’s most foundational and historically significant foods.” - Christian Science Monitor

“Should there ever be a competition to determine the most interesting man in the world, Michael W. Twitty would have to be considered a serious contender.” - Washington Post