Cooking can be very intimidating, especially when we didn’t grow up learning or seeing family come together for big meals. But on the other hand, it can be this wonderful event, celebration, or an intimate thing we do with the people we love.
Either way, as much as we cherish such big or small meals, we can become afraid to cook because it won’t be the same. Or at least you feel that way. You won’t get the same experiences or outcomes when cooking yourself. Like anything else, mental and physical prep must be done: brainstorming, shopping lists, grocery store queues, time management, etc.
Sometimes, this pressure can be built up to preserve our Black American culture and familial traditions, a combination of many influences. In these cases, cooking joins the list of things that are necessary but probably wouldn’t care about.
Slowly, through your most intimate relationships with friends and partners, you begin to see the beauty — and rewards — of cooking.
Stop giving in to that defeat of always bringing chips or paper products to social gatherings. You can start slowly by asking a family member to send Christmas and Thanksgiving recipes. You can even volunteer to host Thanksgiving dinner at your place.
Each time you hear your loved ones praise the foods you prepared for them, you’ll feel more confident that you can carry out traditions your way.
These seven cookbooks by Black chefs have inspired and fed in nutrients, joy, and spiritual sustenance. They’re also helping people overcome their personal fears of cooking.
by Toni Tipton-Martin
Who says a cookbook can’t also be a history lesson?
Tipton-Martin draws on her nutritionist and food activist background to amass over 125 recipes demonstrating soul food’s complexity and nuance.
“Jubilee” pushes beyond the trope of soul food as survival, wherein enslaved and impoverished Africans created a new cuisine from plantation scraps. The author showcases the culinary skills of enslaved Black chefs, entrepreneurs, the upper class, and everything in between.
You will be joyfully full, whether the black-eyed pea fritters, okra gumbo, or braised lamb shanks with peanut sauce.
by Marcus Samuelsson
Chef Samuelsson’s Red Rooster restaurant in Harlem. Undoubtedly the bougiest Black fantasy.
The food is simple but decadent, and the ambiance is Black, beautiful, and triumphant. Samuelsson’s cookbook leans into his Swedish-Ethiopian and Afropolitan experiences with recipes for chicken and waffles, cornbread and bird funk, wild wild wings, and donuts with sweet potato cream.
Interspersed with poignant photos of Harlem, this cookbook is Samuelson’s tribute to this culturally iconic neighborhood.
by Lauren Von Der Pool
If she’s a good enough chef for Stevie Wonder, Common, First Lady Michelle Obama, Dr. Sebi, and Venus and Serena Williams, she’s good enough for me!
Celebrity chef Von Der Pool wrote “Eat Yourself Sexy” to empower female-identified readers on their inner journey toward sexiness through raw food and homemade beauty products.
This is a must-read if you’re intimidated by a plant-based diet or DIY beauty. Chef Von Der Pool’s simple recipes, stunning photos, and comprehensive information about eating whole foods will inspire you to get started.
by Ayesha Curry
Outspoken and unapologetic Food Network host, restaurateur, mom, and wife Ayesha Curry gifts readers with 100 recipes that are perfect for your hectic work-life balance.
Curry’s recipes range from mouthwatering brown sugar bacon, game day chili, and harvest sangria to white chocolate bread pudding and butternut squash mash.
“The Seasoned Life” shows audiences why Ayesha is Chef Curry with the pot.
by Jerrelle Guy
Inspired by #blackgirlmagic, this cookbook is Guy’s empowering journey of accepting her fullest self through cooking.
Perhaps what makes her cookbook so defining is her insistence that readers abandon the idea of baking perfection and fall in love with the process of baking instead.
The recipes don’t disappoint, either. Strawberry balsamic cupcakes, sweet potato rice crispies, and peanut butter jelly bread? Yes, please!
by Tanya Holland
Inspired by Chef Holland’s Brown Sugar Kitchen restaurant in Oakland, California, her cookbook offers over 80 simply delicious recipes.
Her soul food entrées include everything from shrimp gumbo, black-eyed peas’ salad, chili glazed salmon, and cornmeal waffles with apple cider syrup.
While Bryant doesn’t shy away from popular favorites like fried chicken, she includes alternative options for eaters with dietary restrictions.
by Bryant Terry
Food activist and chef Bryant Terry offers perfectly seasoned vegan recipes from the African Diaspora that will impress even your most carnivorous dinner guests.
Terry combines ingredients from disparate regions like North Africa, the American South, and the Caribbean into delicious dishes like sweet potato and lima bean tagine, pomegranate peach BBQ sauce, and skillet cornbread with pecan dukkah.
“Afro-Vegan” even includes genre-diverse playlists to accompany Terry’s recipes. My aunt’s personal favorite is the savory grits with slow-cooked collard greens. You can listen to the accompanying song, “The Funk,” here.
Whether you’re recovering from cooking fears or just looking to expand your culinary confidence with dishes honoring Black heritage, these chefs are here to support you on your journey.
Turn on some music, permit yourself to make mistakes, and throw down for yourself or your loved ones. Glorious flavors await you.
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