American Soul' author explains how Black history shapes U.S. cuisine

"She's also the author of American Soul: The Black History of Food in the United States (National Geographic, $40), which traces the history of Black foodways in the U.S. from the first documented arrival of African peoples to a North American settlement in 1619 to today. The book, which came out in September, emphasizes just how deeply Black food history is American food history."

"For example, George Washington's enslaved workers maintained an ice house that enabled him to serve cold treats even during the summer, and his enslaved chef, Hercules Posey, was one of the country's first celebrity chefs. And James Hemings, an enslaved chef at Thomas Jefferson's plantation in Monticello, trained as a pastry chef in France while Jefferson was there and was probably one of the best-trained chefs in America at the time."

Anela Malik transitioned from diplomacy to storytelling and content creation, hosting the web series Our Block, organizing global travel, and running the site formerly called Feed the Malik. American Soul traces Black foodways from the first documented arrival of African peoples in 1619 through the present and asserts that Black food history is central to American food history. During slavery, African agricultural and culinary labor underpinned the colonial economy, while control over food and water served as instruments of domination. Enslaved people brought staple crops and culinary knowledge, and the slave trade transformed sugar into a mass commodity that generated wealth, enabled culinary experimentation, trained chefs, and expanded ingredient imports.

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