Afros and Knives Podcast - Preserving Food Culture, With Authenticity with Kiano Moju

Preserving Food Culture, With Authenticity with Kiano Moju

01/07/22 • 74 min

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We are at risk of losing so much rich culinary heritage if we don’t start documenting it properly, so Kiano Moju, our guest on today’s show, is on a mission to do just that. Through her company, Jikoni, Kiano and her team have created a space for people to become active participants in the telling of their food-related stories. Kiano talks about the vision she has, and the way she hopes it will revolutionize the way people think about food from cultures other than their own. Kiano’s love for food began on her grandparents’ farm in Kenya it was the place where she had her first major realization about the importance of preserving traditions linked to food. We talk about some of the biggest names in the food world, and why you should not be trying to emulate them; too many creatives get trapped in “the machine” which may lead to more views and more followers, but at what cost? We also get Kiano’s perspective on risk-taking, the lack of diversity behind the scenes of much of the content that we consume, and why promoting brands without their consent can do more harm than good.

Episode Takeaways

• The evolution of Kiano’s career in the culinary space.

• Kiano explains what she is hoping to achieve through her company, Jikoni.

• Time Kiano spent in Kenya and how this sparked her love for everything to do with food.

• A hugely important realization that Kiano had when she filmed her uncle’s wedding in Kenya.

• Recipe keeping; changes that have occurred in this practice over time.

• How Kiano is intending to grow Jikoni.

• A note on writing headnotes for recipes.

• The issue of food access.

• What the food media industry should learn from the music industry.

• Problematic trends that Kiano is seeing in the food media space.

• Working in “the machine”; what this means, and why we need to get out of it.

• Experiences of black business owners when their companies are promoted without their consent.

• The importance of retaining your authenticity, whatever creative industry you work in.

• Higher risks lead to higher rewards; many people seem to have forgotten this.

• Media companies’ tendency to “other” certain types of food, and how Kiano is working to change this narrative.

• What is going on behind the content we see on our screens in terms of diversity, or a lack thereof.

--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/afrosandknivespod/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/afrosandknivespod/support

Episode Takeaways

• The evolution of Kiano’s career in the culinary space.

• Kiano explains what she is hoping to achieve through her company, Jikoni.

• Time Kiano spent in Kenya and how this sparked her love for everything to do with food.

• A hugely important realization that Kiano had when she filmed her uncle’s wedding in Kenya.

• Recipe keeping; changes that have occurred in this practice over time.

• How Kiano is intending to grow Jikoni.

• A note on writing headnotes for recipes.

• The issue of food access.

• What the food media industry should learn from the music industry.

• Problematic trends that Kiano is seeing in the food media space.

• Working in “the machine”; what this means, and why we need to get out of it.

• Experiences of black business owners when their companies are promoted without their consent.

• The importance of retaining your authenticity, whatever creative industry you work in.

• Higher risks lead to higher rewards; many people seem to have forgotten this.

• Media companies’ tendency to “other” certain types of food, and how Kiano is working to change this narrative.

• What is going on behind the content we see on our screens in terms of diversity, or a lack thereof.

--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/afrosandknivespod/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/afrosandknivespod/support

Previous Episode

Sharing African American History Through Hospitality with Kristin Kitchen

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Key Points From This Episode:

• Kristin and her history with the Six Acres property where she runs her B&B.

• How the history of the Six Acres property informs Kristin’s approach to hosting guests.

• Kristin’s thoughts on her commitment to sourcing products by Black-owned businesses.

• How Kristin weaves Black histories tied to the locations of her restaurants into her design choices and the guest experience.

• How Kristin’s business choices tie into the growing heritage tourism movement.

• Questioning norms and Kristin’s thoughts on Blackness being branded in negative ways.

• Perspectives on luxury and a story about a travel writer who appreciated her experience at Six Acres.

• How the pandemic is challenging us to find new ways of inhabiting our spaces.

• The role of Kristin’s team in building her brand and how a common value system drives them.

• Thoughts on telling Black stories and excitement for what is in store for Sojourn.

Today’s guest is Kristin Kitchen, Founder, and CEO of Sojourn Heritage Accommodations, talking about how she is using hospitality to share African American history and inspired community building. Sojourn is a heritage tourism brand where luxury meets history, with a vision to share the rich past of African Americans across the country through art, jazz, wine, and food in a uniquely diverse hospitality setting.

The first property Kristin acquired is now the Six Acres Bed & Breakfast, a house in the Underground Railroad Network, which she converted into very successful hospitality business in Cincinnati, Ohio. This was the first in Kristin’s brand of boutique hotels that blend the intimacy of a bed and breakfast with the amenities of a first-class hotel. Our conversation begins with the story of how Kristin found the Six Acres property and decided to convert it into a bed and breakfast that incorporated the rich history of its context into the guest experience.

We talk about Kristin’s decision to support Black-owned businesses through the products she sources and then dive into the importance of keeping African American history alive in the present. Our conversation explores the importance of defining luxury for ourselves and how this connects to the experience of basking in the beauty of our shared culture. We speak to Kristin about the importance of her team, the intersection of her business plan with the heritage tourism movement, and what is in store for the different locations that she currently has under operation.

--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/afrosandknivespod/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/afrosandknivespod/support

Next Episode

Celebrating the complexity and beauty of indigenous cuisine with Chef Hillel Echo Hawk

Hillel Echo-Hawk is a chef and educator, who is dedicated to creating more awareness about indigenous American food traditions, with a specific focus on those of the Pawnee Nation. She runs Birch Basket, a catering company based in Seattle, creating delicious food using healthy, sustainable, beautiful ingredients, indigenous to North America. Like so many of us, Hillel has had an interesting and challenging journey through cuisine and we get to hear all about it in today's episode. Hillel charts her work as a young missionary, and how she enrolled at culinary school after being forced to move back home. We also talk about food in her home growing up, and the early experiences with her mother that shaped her understanding of cooking before we discuss the important aspects of indigenous American cooking that interest Hillel the most. The conversation also covers some thoughts on culinary education, its gaps, and why it is important for people to speak up to shift the conversation away from outdated models. The last part of this illuminating episode is spent discussing life since the pandemic, adapting to uncertainty, and Hillel's challenges with epilepsy. Make sure to join us today, to hear it all!

Key Takeaways From This Episode:

An introduction to Hillel and her work as a chef and food educator.
Hillel's transition from missionary work into the culinary world.
The organic move that Hillel made into the education space around food.
America's indigenous foods and their inextricable place in the history of the region and its people.
Hillel's early experiences of cooking at home and the first things she learned to make.
The mission to broaden knowledge that Hillel discovered in her years at culinary school.
The important steps that Hillel took in linking with I-Collective and building Birch Basket.
A massive disruption in the form of the pandemic and how Hillel has managed this.
How epilepsy has affected Hillel's work and the hurdle of medical conditions for chefs.
What Hillel's professional life looks like right now under these unusual circumstances.
The projects and organizations that Hillel is working with and championing right now.