Chefs, authors to talk food, history

The Black History Commission of Arkansas and Arkansas History Commission will host a discussion on “The Roots of African American Foodways” on Saturday. The symposium is the 10th annual June program put on by the commissions and will feature Toni Tipton-Martin, an award- winning food and nutrition journalist; Cindy Grisham, a historian and author; and Evette Brady and Tim Morton from 1620 Savoy in Little Rock.

The event will begin at 10 a. m. at Pulaski Technical College Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management Institute with a presentation

by Grisham about the trends and traditions of heirloom vegetables and meat. Joyce Gibson, BHCA commissioner, will speak about her large collection of aprons. Tipton-Martin will talk about her new book, The Jemima Code, which explores more than 150 cookbooks from black Americans dating to the 19th

century.

There will also be a cooking demonstration by Brady and Morton incorporating Caribbean, Cuban and African cooking styles.

Lunch will be provided by institute chefs.

Danyelle McNeill of the Arkansas History Commission urges attendees to take recipes, pictures or restaurant memorabilia to be scanned for digital preservation.

“We just don’t have a lot of

that stuff here yet,” McNeill said. “So we’re hoping to start a collection.”

The discussion is funded in part by a grant from the Arkansas Humanities Council, the Department of Arkansas Heritage and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Admission is free but registration is required and the workshop is currently full. To be placed on a waiting list or for more information, call ( 501) 682- 6892.