A Hungry Society

Today’s guest is Dr. Monica M. White, assistant professor of environmental justice, urban agriculture and community food systems at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and author of Freedom Farmers: Agricultural Resistance and the Black Freedom Movement published this month. On the show we talk about the history of farming in Black liberation and her favorite restaurants in Madison, Wisconsin.

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Today’s guest is Ysanet Batista of Woke Foods, a woman-owned cooperative that focuses on the healing power of whole foods and traditional cooking from the Dominican Republic. The organization was founded by Batista and Merelis Catalina Ortiz and offers recipe development, cooking classes, catering and event planning all rooted in the Dominican cooking that they grew up with.

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Today's show is an interview with Karla Vasquez, founder of SalviSoul, food writer, recipe developer, and food stylist based in Los Angeles. Karla’s writing has been published by The Los Angeles Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, Teen Vogue and Eater LA among other publications and her recipe development work has been on Buzzfeed Tasty and Tastemade. Salvi Soul, which she founded in 2015 is a Salvadoran cookbook storytelling project focused on recipe documentation, cultural memory, and intergenerational healing for the Salvadoran diaspora and it is the only dedicated food platform for Salvadoran cuisine with weekly online cooking classes, events, and a forthcoming cookbook.

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Chef Chris began his culinary career in Philadelphia when the city was in the midst of a culinary revolution. He worked alongside notable chefs such as Al Paris, Michael Solomanov, and with the Starr Restaurant Group as sous chef to Franklin Becker and Marcus Samuelsson. After honing his skills in Philly for 15 years, Chef Chris moved to New York City where he led as the Executive Chef for CNN and Time Warner. There he cooked for international dignitaries such as Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, South African President Nelson Mandela, as well as many actors, professional athletes and top media personalities. In November 2010, Chef Chris opened Brooklyn Commune with his wife Eugenie. They both shared a love for food and community and embarked on a mission to bring people together around food. They developed socially responsible programs including kids cooking classes that benefited a local women’s shelter, free monthly meals and healthy recipe sharing in underprivileged neighborhoods, and other local as well as international efforts. They were honored with the Community Leader Award by CAMBA for their work and commitment to raising the community. Chef Chris continues his social advocacy work as a brand ambassador for the Institute of Culinary Education, inspiring up and coming chefs, and also with the Food Bank of NYC in their mission to eradicate hunger. In April 2016, they opened Butterfunk Kitchen, a soul food restaurant that is heritage cooking at its finest. The restaurant was recognized by Brooklyn Magazine as one of 10 BEST New Restaurants in 2016 and received high praise from the New York Times. Chef Chris also competed on season 15 of Bravo’s Top Chef and earned his place as a top four finalist, showcasing his family’s migration soul food. The recognition from the series has amplified his mission to give soul food the respect it deserves as honorable American cuisine. In February 2018, Chris spearheaded a dinner at the James Beard House for Juneteenth Day, commemorating the date when slavery was finally abolished in all of the United States. This was an historic event for the James Beard House, being the first to ever honor an African American holiday and will proudly continue as an annual dinner. Chris continues to share the history and development of African American culture through a cookbook, sharing his family’s recipes and stories across seven generations and with the recent opening of his third restaurant BIRDMAN in Bridgeport CT.

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Chef Adrian Lipscombe, Texas native and owner of Uptowne Cafe & Bakery in Wisconsin, is a very busy woman. She’s a wife, mother of four, city planner and business owner and the founder of the 40 Acres & a Mule Project, which she launched in June to preserve, research and celebrate Black foodways. On today’s show we talk about the goals of the project and the importance of legacy which Adrian shares from her own personal, familial stories and from the point of view of a Black culinarian, interested in passing on knowledge about Black foodways to the next generation of Black chefs. If you’d like to support the 40 Acres and Mule project, head here.

Image courtesy of Adrian Lipscombe.

In March, HRN began producing all of our 35 weekly shows from our homes all around the country. It was hard work stepping away from our little recording studio, but we know that you rely on HRN to share resources and important stories from the world of food each week. It’s been a tough year for all of us, but right now HRN is asking for your help. Every dollar that listeners give to HRN provides essential support to keep our mics on. We've got some fresh new thank you gifts available, like our limited edition bandanas.

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