At the Table of Power: Food and Cuisine in the African American Struggle for Freedom, Justice, and Equality
Diane M. Spivey
University of Pittsburgh Press
At the Table of Power is both a cookbook and a culinary history that intertwines social issues, personal stories, and political commentary.
Culinary historian Diane M. Spivey offers a unique insight into the historical experience and cultural values of African America and America in general by way of the kitchen. From the rural country kitchen and steamboat floating palaces to marketplace street vendors and restaurants in urban hubs of business and finance, Africans in America cooked their way to positions of distinct superiority, and thereby indispensability.
These narratives, together with the recipes from the 19th and 20th centuries, expose the politics of the day and offer insight on the politics of today. African American culinary artists, Spivey concludes, have more than earned a rightful place at the table of culinary contribution and power.