The Women And Black Cooks Behind Iconic Recipes

Danielle Nierenberg

Danielle Nierenberg 

For too long, the contributions of women, Black people, and other marginalized folks have not been fully recognized in the food system.

Author Toni Tipton-Martin—a true culinary detective—is at the forefront of the movement to rediscover and champion the people who have shaped the food system while often being denied the credit they are rightfully due. 

“Whenever we leave an essential group out of a conversation, you’re only getting part of the story,” she told us earlier this week during an exclusive conversation with Food Tank members. “Making sure that there is inclusivity isn’t just good for the group that’s having their dignity restored. It’s also good for the greater good.”

Over the past decade, Toni has written several award-winning books: “The Jemima Code” investigates two centuries of Black history through the lens of cookbooks, and its follow-up, “Jubilee,” is one of my favorite cookbooks for the way Toni brings historical Black foodways and flavors into our kitchens. And a couple years ago, she published a cocktail recipe book, “Juke Joints, Jazz Clubs, and Juice,” which shines a similar much-deserved spotlight on Black drinking culture.

Her most recent project is “When Southern Women Cook: History, Lore, and 300 Recipes with Contributions from 70 Women Writers.” The book, which she shepherded alongside Cook’s Country editor Morgan Bolling, dives into the America’s Test Kitchen archives to highlight hundreds of recipes from the women who have shaped Southern cuisine.

“What we were able to do in the research process is discover how many women were behind iconic dishes and food and ingredients that are essential to the American food system, not just in the South but across the board,” she told us.

Part of what makes Toni’s work so complex and valuable—and so interesting to read!—is that giving credit where it’s due is not as simple as changing the byline name on a recipe. It involves telling deep stories of culture and creativity. Because, as she points out: “The reality is that there is no original recipe. We’re always adapting and revising and refining a recipe.”

Innovation and social progress have never been about just one person—they're always collaborative. Both within the food system and more broadly, I think we often try to find one silver-bullet solution. But actually, the way we’ll fix some of the most complicated challenges in the food system is by recognizing that people who are different from us have insights and wisdom we can learn from, and vice versa. Maybe something your great-grandmother used to do, for example, could actually help us find the solution to modern food waste!

“We’re just going to have to reach a place where we realize we need each other, and we have similar desires to provide for our families, to live independently, and to be healthy without feeling like one person’s stability necessarily causes instability for someone else,” she told us. “And food is a really good way to arrive at that Venn diagram.”

In other words: Any progress we make, we make by working together and elevating one another, not by tearing each other down—especially in the food system.

If you want to hear more from Toni Tipton-Martin, we’re sharing part of my conversation with her on today’s episode of the Food Talk podcast, so check that out HERE. 

And if you want to be able to have access to more unabridged conversations with food system luminaries, I hope you’ll consider joining Food Tank. I love hearing the thoughtful and insightful questions from our members during these exclusive Q&A opportunities—you all give me so much to reflect on.

Speaking of that: After our chat with Toni, I’ve been thinking a lot about community-based wisdom and how we can learn through food. What traditional practices, grandmotherly tips, or family virtues do you think could help move the broader food system forward? Email me at danielle@foodtank.com, and let’s talk about—as Toni pointed out—whether a little grease bucket by the stove can help us address food waste!

Danielle Nierenberg is the President of Food Tank and can be reached at (danielle@foodtank.com