“My mother, a domestic servant and gourmet cook, preached to me that cooking for others is like giving your heart and soul to them. I think this is why I was so moved by Marcus Samuelsson’s latest book: The Rise: Black Cooks and the Soul of American Food. He provides a history lesson illustrated by the chefs he profiles and their motivation to pay tribute to their ancestors through recipes and anecdotes.

   ‘I want to share stories about amazing people, about this amazing country, around food. The most delicious way about having a conversation about race is to cook it and eat it together,’ he said.

    My mother would have agreed.”

 –Marty O’Connell, Membership and Development Coordinator, devoted cook and baker, shameless collector of cookbooks