A food writer’s recipe for success

Reflecting on the influences that have led him to where he is today-a preeminent culinary historian and food writer, a sought-after speaker, and a two-time James Beard Award winner-Michael W. Twitty maintains that they were exactly the right ingredients for his success.

Twitty is the author, most recently, of Koshersoul: The Faith and Food Journey of an African American Jew (HarperCollins, Amistad), a memoir in which he discusses the challenges of intersectional identity–he is not only Black and Jewish, but also gay–and waxes eloquent on how both Jews and Blacks in the diaspora have ingeniously adapted their menus and palates to the far-flung lands in which they have found themselves. He said an early introduction to cooking put him on a path paved with food intentions.

“I was the only kid in an extended family of adults,” said Washington, D.C.-based Twitty, who, in his boyhood, assisted his parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles with kitchen chores: washing collard greens, cleaning rice, cutting up chickens, and other meal-prep tasks.

It also helped, he said, that he grew up in a “multicultural community” around suburban Silver Spring and Wheaton, Maryland, where he was “drafted into” kitchen service in the homes of friends whose families were of Filipino, Greek, Korean, Pakistani, Lebanese, Jamaican, Indian, and Jewish descent.

The allure of spices and herbs from across the globe–turmeric, curry, cayenne pepper, paprika, and cinnamon, among others–proved intoxicating, as did late 20th century cooking shows.

“I loved PBS cooking shows,” enthused Twitty, who said he eschewed most youthful extracurricular activities, which he found “banal and stupid.”

Twitty stayed close to home for college, attending Howard University, and began studying Judaism in earnest. A kippah-wearing, self-described “Conservadox” Jew who underwent conversion 20 years ago, he taught for about 15 years as a Hebrew school teacher (Twitty said he was initially drawn to the Hebrew language and taught himself the Hebrew alphabet at age 7). All the while, he continued honing his skills as a culinary interpreter. About a dozen years ago, he launched Afroculinaria, a blog in which he mused on the culinary traditions of “Africa, African America, and the African Diaspora.”

Koshersoul recounts Twitty’s experiences as a Black, Jewish, and LGBTQ man traversing multiples communities, and it features the voices of other Jews of color, who have often encountered awkwardness and incredulity-and worse-when they have revealed their authentic intersectional selves to others, both Black and white. While it is not a cookbook per se, it is a celebration of Black-Jewish-style cooking. The final third of the book features dozens of recipes, such as Caribbean compote, yam kugel, Swahili roast chicken, and black-eyed pea hummus, that Twitty has gleaned from friends and associates over the years.

Koshersoul comes about five years following the release of Twitty’s first food memoir, The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African American Culinary History in the Old South , in which he explored his family’s history. That book received critical acclaim-not only from the Beard Foundation, which singled it out for Book of the Year and for writing, but from a number of literary giants, including Kirkus Reviews, which nominated it in 2017 for best nonfiction book.

Twitty will soon begin working on the final installment of his autobiographical trilogy, focusing on food from an LGBTQ perspective. As an unabashedly proud gay man, he said he is often reminded of that quote from another gay Jew, Harvey Fierstein: “Visibility at any cost.”

For Twitty, that means attention must be paid to every part of his identity. “I was tired of being told that I didn’t exist,” he said of his younger self.

  Robert Nagler Miller is a journalist and editor who writes frequently about arts- and Jewish-related topics from his home in New York.

Yam Kugel

Although frequently translated as “pudding,” the traditional Ashkenazi dish kugel takes a thousand forms and has diversified even further in an American cuisine where casseroles and hot dishes abound. Inspired by the traditions preserved by Mrs. Mildred Covert, this side dish relies on plump, sugary sweet potatoes to bridge Southern sweet potato casserole with the Eastern European standby kugel.

Serves 6-8

2 cups shredded raw sweet potatoes

¾ cup margarine or vegan butter, melted

¾ cup packed brown sugar

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup raisins or plumped dried mango, cut into small pieces

½ cup chopped pecans (optional)

Combine the sweet potatoes, margarine, and sugar; mix well. Combine all the dry ingredients; then add to the sweet potato mixture, mixing until just moistened. Fold in the raisins or mango. Pour into a 9-inch square or round baking dish. Top with pecans if desired. Cover with foil and bake at 350°F for 1 hour. Uncover, continue baking for 10 minutes.

Source: Michael W. Twitty’s Koshersoul: The Faith and Food Journey of an African American Jew