New Books in African Studies
Alexander Smalls and Nina Oduro, "The Contemporary African Kitchen: Home Cooking Recipes from the Leading Chefs of Africa" (Phaidon Press, 2024) artwork

Alexander Smalls and Nina Oduro, "The Contemporary African Kitchen: Home Cooking Recipes from the Leading Chefs of Africa" (Phaidon Press, 2024)

New Books in African Studies
E49423:33
Play episode

Show notes

The Contemporary African Kitchen: Home Cooking Recipes from the Leading Chefs of Africa (Phaidon Press, 2024) is an elegant collection of 120 home cooking recipes from Africa’s most​ exciting culinary voices today. Extensively researched and thoughtfully​ curated by James Beard Award winning chef, author, and restaurateur​ Alexander Smalls in collaboration with Dine Diaspora CEO Nina Oduro,​ this bold volume celebrates Africa’s extraordinary gastronomic past and​ present across a breadth of dishes.​ Composed of 55 countries with more than 1.4 billion people, and​ 2,000-plus languages spoken, Africa is home to distinct and diverse​ culinary traditions. The Contemporary African Kitchen centers Africa’s​ multifaceted cuisine and, as Smalls writes in the introduction, seeks to​ bring it into the “contemporary, modern, and stunning realm, illustrated through a myriad of stories, images, and recipes, all of which highlight​ Africa’s gifts to the world, through people and cuisine.” To accomplish​ this, Smalls and Oduro meticulously selected 33 of Africa’s most​ innovative and influential figures working today, all of whom were born or​ raised across the continent or have demonstrated contributions across​ countries, among them: Sinoyolo Sifo, Matse Uwatse, Eric Adjepong,​ Rōze Traore, Mogau Seshoene, and Dieuveil Malonga. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/african-studies

More from this show

More
  1. Courtney Weikle‑Mills, "Sugarcoated Ethics: Children’s Literature and Atlantic Enslavement" (Johns Hopkins UP, 2026)

    What if children’s literature was never as innocent as we imagine? In Sugarcoated Ethics: Children’s Literature and Atlantic Enslavement (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2026), the…

    59:12
  2. Bernadette Ludwig, "Unwelcome Shores: Black Refugees in America" (Rutgers UP, 2025)

    Unwelcome Shores: Black Refugees in America (Rutgers University Press, 2025) is an ethnographic study of the Liberian refugee community in Staten Island, New York, home to the larg…

    44:01
  3. Mhoze Chikowero, "The Military Entertainment Complex: Chimurenga Afrosonic Making of Zimbabwe" (MIT Press, 2026)

    The Military Entertainment Complex: Chimurenga Afrosonic Making of Zimbabwe (MIT Press, 2026) by Dr. Mhoze Chikowero is the story of the making of post-independence Zimbabwe from t…

    01:08:36
  4. Edward E. Andrews, "Newport Gardner's Anthem: A Story of Slavery, Struggle, and Survival in Early America" (Cornell UP, 2025)

    Newport Gardner's Anthem: A Story of Slavery, Struggle, and Survival in Early America (Cornell UP, 2025) explores the remarkable life of Occramer Marycoo, an enslaved African who w…

    47:16
  5. Hossam el-Hamalawy, "Counterrevolution in Egypt: Sisi's New Republic ( Verso Books, 2026)

    Counterrevolution in Egypt: Sisi's New Republic ( Verso Books, 2026) is a rare and comprehensive examination of the structures, hierarchies, and methods of the military, police, an…

    01:37:08
  6. Chasing Freedom: Coming of Age at the End of Empire with Simukai Chigudu

    "In my home country, they call me a 'bornfree'." Simukai Chigudu was born in Zimbabwe, two years after the end of its bitter war of liberation - a war in which his father had fough…

Now Playing