This public conversation, part of the Spirit & Place Festival, guests to hear culinary historian Michael Twitty speak live and in person during a live podcast hosted by Tanorria Askew and Candace Boyd. Audience members were given a chance to interact with each other and the speakers during a book signing and reception catered by vendors located in The Amp, which is part of the 16 Tech Innovation District.

Michael W. Twitty is a culinary historian and food writer who blogs at Afroculinaria.com and has appeared on numerous television programs with hosts including Henry Louis Gates (Many Rivers to Cross) and Michelle Obama (Waffles and Mochi). The Cooking Gene was published in 2017 and traces Michael’s ancestry through food from Africa to America and from slavery to freedom.

It was a finalist for The Kirkus Prize and The Art of Eating Prize and was a 3rd place winner of Barnes & Noble’s Discover New Writer’s Awards in Nonfiction.

The Cooking Gene won the 2018 James Beard Award for best writing as well as book of the year, making Michael the first Black author so awarded. His piece on visiting Ghana in Bon Appetit was included in Best Food Writing in 2019 and was nominated for a 2019 James Beard Award. KosherSoul, his follow-up to The Cooking Gene, was published in August 2022 and received the 2022 National Jewish Book Award. Michael can also be found on MasterClass online, where he teaches Tracing Your Roots Through Food. Michael is a National Geographic Explorer, a TED fellow, and a member of the 2022 TIME 100 Next class. He served as a historical consultant on the FX adaptation of Octavia Butler's "Kindred." Kosher Soul