During Michael Twitty’s public lecture in March on African American food traditions, a student in the audience asked him how to navigate between the precise methods of Western cooking and the more free-form approach of African and African American methods.
“First of all, I ignore all Western rules,” said Twitty, a chef, food historian, and James Beard award-winning author. “We're vibration cooks.” His grandmother, he recalled, taught him to use his hands for measurement: “She’d actually go, ‘Hold out your hands. This is a quarter cup. This is a third of a cup.’”
Twitty shared stories like this as well as recipes and cooking tips during his two-day visit to Wellesley. He participated in Jewish studies and Africana studies classes; talked about global variations of charoset, traditionally eaten during the Passover Seder; discussed the intersections of Black and Jewish communities and how he appreciates being part of both; and talked about the importance of representation.
During the public lecture, he recalled the first time he attended the Oxford Food Symposium, where academics, chefs, and writers from around the world join to discuss issues in food culture. “I was the only Black person there,” he said. “I remember the feeling of … I got to get more of us into these spaces. I need a community, and I need people to understand I'm not the only one.”
“I felt seen by Michael, and learned much about his lived experiences of the Black Jewish experience,” said Naleli Nonyane, a junior from the University of Manchester who is studying abroad at Wellesley. Nonyane went to each of the activities Twitty offered during his visit. “He helped open my eyes to see that there is a language to cooking,” she said. “Eating red rice, a delectable Black southern dish a handful of students and faculty helped create alongside Michael at his cooking demonstration, reminded me of the Sierra Leone jollof rice I have back at home and cook with my family.”
Twitty spoke at length about family and the various countries he traces his lineage to with the help of DNA testing. “Food is about our history, our ancestors,” he said during his public talk. “It’s about preserving tastes from the past.”
Madeline Mayes, a junior domestic exchange student from Smith College studying film and media studies and Spanish translation, describes herself as an avid baker and a multicultural Jew. “When I was 12, I wrote my bat mitzvah speech about the culinary overlaps between my Jewish and Latina identities,” she said. “Now, at 20, it is so inspiring to hear Michael speak so thoughtfully about the power of food in Jewish and southern African American cultures.” Mayes said she “left the auditorium feeling inspired to document my family recipes so our culinary culture and traditions can stand the test of time.”
“Michael inspired us all with his stories, scholarship, and humor. His deep dives into ancestry, race, and peoplehood offer us the opportunity to think about food and heritage in new and exciting ways,” said Rabbi Dena Bodian, a College chaplain who has known Twitty for many years. To bring him to campus, the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life partnered with the Pluralism Initiative, the Paulson Initiative, the Office of Intercultural Education, Harambee House, the Africana studies, Jewish studies, and religion departments, and the Merle and Marshall Goldman Endowment Fund for Jewish Campus Life.
Nonyane, whose mom is from Sierra Leone and dad is from Lesotho, said when she cooks, it’s like recreating home in the “way that it invigorates my senses and my soul.” Twitty’s book Recipes from the American South has inspired her to try new foods and look into different cultures. “Michael reminded us that in creating spaces to educate ourselves about food and understanding and uplifting different cultures, we are creating resistance,” she said. “We’re creating culinary justice for all of us moving forward. It’s about understanding where you’ve come from and passing it on.”