Bryant Terry, power to the people
Bryant Terry, power to the people
He fights for justice and his weapons are fruits and vegetables, seasonal products and farm-fresh ingredients. The reputed chef and author, whose books promote a new approach to African-American cuisine, is an Afro-Vegan - according to the title of his last publication. The current chef-in-residence at the San Francisco Museum of the African Diaspora, talks about his struggle for food justice and his inspirations : from the Black Panther to Senegalese chef Pierre Thiam.
Your last book was called Afro-Vegan. How would you define this concept ?
Imagine if you removed the animal products from African, Caribbean, Southern, and other Afro-influenced cuisines, then meticulously cut, pasted, and remixed the food to produce recipes with farm-fresh ingredients as their heart and soul: that is Afro-Vegan. I approach cooking as a collagist: blending vegetables, grains, legumes, fruits, nuts, and seeds to reflect the flavors of the African diaspora.
Beyond being a reputed chef, you are described as a “food justice activist”. Which food injustices are you fighting?
Food justice is a movement to ensure that everyone is afforded the human right to healthy, safe, affordable, and culturally appropriate food. I’m simply using my national platform to, first, bring light to the economic, physical and geographic barriers that many people in communities across this country have in accessing good food and second, to build power in those communities, so people can create solutions to food injustice.
In Europe, there are a lot of stereotypes concerning American food consumption such as excessive fat, burgers, deep-fried chicken and sodas. What is your general opinion about how Americans eat and also Afro-Americans?
Many Americans are deeply influenced by the billions of dollars that multinational food and beverage corporations spend on marketing the worst foods and beverages. As a result obesity has reached near epidemic proportions, and the rate of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, certain cancers, and other preventable diet-related illnesses continues to grow every year. African Americans have some of the highest rates of preventable diet-related illnesses as a result of complicated cultural and structural realities.
In many countries, only the wealthy can afford healthy, organic food. Are poorer Americans condemned to junk food?
There are many economic, physical, and geographical barriers that make it difficult for a lot of poor and working poor people to access fresh food in communities across America. Over the past decade, I have seen a lot more awareness about the disparity in access to real food in this country, and there have been a lot of efforts to bring more fresh food to communities. But we have a long way to go.
In your opinion, what’s the next step towards food justice ?
I do not think food justice is going to come from not-for-profits working in historically marginalized communities or from starting farmers’ markets in these communities… and certainly not building Walmarts that sell organic produce. I think food justice is about shifting power into the hands of everyday people.
When communities have the knowledge, skills, and resources to grow their own food and when they own the means of production and distribution of fresh food - that will be real food justice.
What are the roots of your commitment?
My work is deeply inspired by the Black Panther Party programs, in the late 1960s and 1970s, that addressed the intersection of poverty, malnutrition, and institutional racism. Such programs included grocery giveaways and a Free Breakfast for School Children Program to ensure that poor innercity children didn’t go to school on an empty stomach.
There is a movement involving Afro-Americans to try and get closer to their African origins. Is there such a movement within food?
I have seen a lot more African Americans looking beyond the comfort foods of our cuisine and embracing the diverse and healthy foundation foods of African American cuisine. I think it is important to remember that throughout the 20th Century, there have been people of African descent calling for more healthy diets, from Rastafarians embracing an Ital diet to Hip Hop artists such as K.R.S.One rapping about the horrors of animal factory farming and its effects on human health.
Has your childhood experiences with food influenced your views today ?
When I was a child I had a diverse omnivorous diet. I grew up eating food as local as my family’s backyard gardens in Memphis, Tennessee, and farms in rural Tennessee and Mississippi. We mostly ate what was in season, except food that we canned, pickled, and preserved. We would often harvest ingredients right before the meal.
Breakfast is sacred in the USA. As an Afro-Vegan, what do you have for breakfast?
As I cook fresh products, it varies with the seasons. Since it is winter in the US, I have been enjoying millet and sweet potato porridge from Afro-Vegan.
There are as many American dishes as there are states. Which area in the USA is the most inspirational for you?
I would definitely say Louisiana. Discovering the rich culinary history of New Orleans was one of the most important parts of my educational experience as a university student living there. To this day that food has influenced my culinary palette more than any other cuisine.
And in Africa ?
As for the African continent… it is hard to choose one particular country or region, since I am so inspired by places throughout the continent.
But if you had to name one?
Lately, I have been cooking a lot of dishes from Chef Pierre Thiam’s books about Senegalese food such as Yolele ! Recipes from the Heart of Senegal and Senegal: Modern Senegalese Recipes from the Source to the Bowl.
Do you have, or are you thinking about projects in Africa?
A friend of mine from college and I have been talking about launching a project in Kenya. I hope to make a trip there later this year.
And today, what are your projects?
I am currently the chef-in-residence at the Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco, where I have created a program that celebrates the intersection of food, farming, health, activism, art, culture, and the African diaspora. I am hosting panel discussions and curating courses, and I have partnered with schools in the Bay Area to teach young people about food justice issues. I am also working on a new book that will be published in 2018. It will provide readers with recipes, tips, and tools for making delicious plant-centered meals. I am also the dad of two amazing daughters.
GLAZED CARROT SALAD
Cinnamon, Raw Cane Sugar, Peanuts, Cilantro, Mint
Yield : 6 to 8 servings
Soundtrack: “Sweet Bite” by George Duke from The Inner Source
1 ½ pounds carrots (about 10 medium carrots)
1 tablespoon plus ½ teaspoon coarse sea salt
2 tablespoons peanut oil
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 teaspoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted (see sidebar, page 9)
¼ cup packed chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons roasted peanuts, crushed
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
This dish is a mashup of glazed carrots, which are popular in the South, and Moroccan carrot salad. The savory coating is rich, intense, and delicious, and as you can see in the photo, this is a gorgeous dish.
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a large roasting pan with parchment paper.
Put about 12 cups of water in a large pot and bring to a boil over high heat. While the water is heating up, cut the carrots into sticks by cutting them in half crosswise, trimming away the edges of each piece to form a rough rectangle, then quartering each rectangle length-wise. (Compost the scraps or save them for another use.)
When the water is boiling, add 1 tablespoon of the salt, then add the carrots and blanch for 1 minute. Drain the carrots well, then pat them dry with a clean kitchen towel.
Put the oil, lemon juice, maple syrup, cinnamon, garlic, cumin seeds, and the remaining ½ teaspoon salt in a large bowl and mix well. Add the carrots and toss until evenly coated. Transfer to the lined pan (no need to clean the bowl). Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the foil, gently stir with a wooden spoon, then bake uncovered for about 10 minutes, until the carrots start to brown.
Return the carrots to the bowl. Add the cilantro and toss gently to combine. Serve garnished with the peanuts and mint.
Reprinted with permission from Afro-Vegan by Bryant Terry, copyright (c) 2014.
Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Penguin Random House, Inc. Photography (c) 2014 by Paige Green.
