Koffler Centre of the Arts

The Koffler is delighted to present African-American, Jewish food writer, culinary and cultural historian and educator Michael W. Twitty, in an online conversation with Nam Kiwanuka.

Continuing the theme of food culture begun with the Koffler.Digital project A Matter of Taste, the Koffler Centre of the Arts is delighted to present an online conversation with African-American, Jewish food writer, culinary and cultural historian and educator Michael W. Twitty. Mr. Twitty will discuss such themes as food justice, cultural appropriation, and how Black and Jewish people have mediated otherness and oppression through what they eat, as well as the global stories Diasporic foodways have to offer.

In conversation with award winning multi-platform journalist and producer, Nam Kiwanuka.

Watch the talk on YouTube:

Listen to the talk on SoundCloud:

Koffler Centre of the Arts · Michael W. Twitty in Conversation with Nam Kiwanuka

The conversation has been transcribed for accessibility purposes. Please click here to view.

Michael W. Twitty is a recognized historical interpreter, independent scholar, and the founder of Afroculinaria.com, the first website/blog devoted to the preservation of historic African American foods and foodways. Twitty’s book, The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African-American Culinary History in the Old South, won two James Beard Awards in 2018 for Food Writing and Best Book and his piece in Bon Appetit, "I Had Never Eaten in Ghana Before. But My Ancestors Had" was nominated for a 2019 James Beard Award and was selected to be included in The Best American Food Writing 2019. In 2020, The Cooking Gene was named on Book Authority’s List of 100 Best Food Books of All Time. Michael’s next book, Kosher Soul, is slated for publication in 2021.

Twitty has made numerous television appearances and has been profiled in the Washington Post and Washington Post Magazine, The New York Times, Grist, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Cuisine Noir, Baltimore Sun, Chicago Tribune, Jet Magazine, and Ebony.com, among other publications. He was one of 20 people selected globally as a 2016 TED Fellow (you can hear his talk here).

Nam Kiwanuka is an award winning multi-platform journalist and producer. She co-hosts The Agenda with Steve Paikin, Ontario’s leading daily primetime current affairs show, and hosts The Agenda in the Summer on TVO. Nam has hosted magazine shows for the NBA and CFL and was a MuchMusic VJ and Videographer. She has worked with CNN and BET; was a columnist for the BBC’s Focus on Africa magazine and has interviewed Salman Rushdie, Britney Spears, Jack Dorsey, Magic Johnson and Margaret Atwood.

Thanks to event bookseller, A Different Booklist.

Books & Ideas: Fall 2020 Series
Our year-round Books & Ideas series spotlights provocative writers, novelists and thinkers, celebrating literary excellence and fostering critical dialogue through compelling book launches, author talks and in-depth interviews. This fall, in conjunction with programming across the Koffler's multidisciplinary art streams, Books & Ideas takes up themes of youth activism, food culture and politics, and environmentalism, presenting a series of virtual events on our online platform.

Books & Ideas was launched with the generous support of Dorothy Shoichet & Family and the Estate of Joseph Koenig.

Books & Ideas Media Partner:

Michael W. Twitty with Nam Kiwanuka

Photos