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Author Spivey, Diane M., 1949- author.

Title At the table of power : food and cuisine in the African American struggle for freedom, justice, and equality / Diane M. Spivey
Published Pittsburgh, Pa. : University of Pittsburgh Press, [2022]

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Description 1 online resource (xvi, 377 pages)
Contents From the beginning : the struggle against culinary apartheid -- Sustenance for sustaining American liberty -- Sustenance for maintaining the legality of slavery -- Triangular trading and the "colored" cooks of Rhode Island -- Philadelphia : city of the epicure's epicures -- "Them pious eats tremendous!" -- "Outcasts and indigent sons of Africa" : New York's nineteenth century chefs, caterers, and restaurateurs -- Running the kitchen and running for office -- Hoteliers, dining rooms, and dining room diplomacy in the nation's capital
Summary This is both a cookbook and a culinary history that intertwines social issues, personal stories, and political commentary. The author, a renowned culinary historian, offers a unique insight into the historical experience and cultural values of African America and America in general by way of the kitchen. From the rural country kitchen and steamboat floating palaces to marketplace street vendors and restaurants in urban hubs of business and finance, Africans in America cooked their way to positions of distinct superiority, and thereby indispensability. Despite their many culinary accomplishments, most Black culinary artists have been made invisible - until now. Within these pages, the author tells a powerful story beckoning and daring the reader to witness this culinary, cultural, and political journey taken hand in hand with the fight of Africans in America during the foundation years, from colonial slavery through the Reconstruction era. These narratives, together with the recipes from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, expose the politics of the day and offer insight on the politics of the twenty-first century. African American culinary artists, the author concludes, have more than earned a rightful place at the table of culinary contribution and power. -- Adapted from description on ProQuest Ebook Central resource page, viewed December 14, 2022
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages [263]-358) and index
Notes Description based on online resource; title from digital title page (ProQuest Ebook Central, viewed December 14, 2022)
Subject African American cooking.
African American cooking -- History
African American cooking -- Social aspects
African Americans -- Food -- History
African Americans -- Food -- Social aspects
African American cooking
Genre/Form History
Form Electronic book
ISBN 9780822989035
0822989034