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

Michael W. Twitty is a living history interpreter, food blogger, and culinary historian. He majored in African American studies and anthropology at Howard University. Having converted to Judaism in 2002, he also works as a Jewish educator, promoting the foods of the African diaspora and educating others about the influence of African American foodways and about culinary justice. Twitty seeks to preserve African American foodways through seed keeping, the growing of heritage crops, and the raising of heritage breeds. He collaborated with the D. Landreth Seed Company to create the African American Heritage Collection, which consists of seeds for 30 plants connected to African American history and survival.

Twitty first developed an interest in culinary history as a boy while visiting Colonial Williamsburg with his father. Twitty’s blog, Afroculinaria, explores how food plays a role in culture and politics. He divides his blog into two parts: Antebellum Chef and Kosher/Soul. Twitty defines the latter as an approach to identity cooking; he argues that individuals create complex identities that are demonstrated by the foods they prepare and eat. For Twitty, cooking is an inherently spiritual experience, and he is often described as a mystic. He carries a leather pouch, traditionally called a “nation sack,” holding dozens of items that he connects with spiritually.