Food historian does a deep dive into soul food as part of Pittsburgh’s Humanities Festival
Food historian Adrian Miller will explore the history of soul food as part of a presentation during the Pittsburgh Humanities Festival. By Stephanie Kalina-Metzger The annual Pittsburgh Humanities Festival returns for its 9th year with an impressive speaker lineup coming to the Greer Cabaret Theater April 3-8. “The festival has been reimagined with a goal […] Food historian Adrian Miller will present a presentation at the Pittsburgh Humanities Festival, marking the 9th year of the festival. The event will include a deep dive into soul food history, with attendees enjoying the food of Pittsburgh's Carmi EuroJournal and learning from Miller. The festival aims to provide a space for community conversation and entertainment by world-renowned experts. Miller's journey to becoming a food historian began when he became an attorney in Washington, D.C. He now travels around the world to educate people about soul food, with the heaviest times being Black History month in February and Juneteenth. He has also published three books, "Black Smoke: African Americans and the United States of Barbecue," and "The President's Kitchen Cabinet: African American Who Have Fed Our First Families."
ที่ตีพิมพ์ : 4 อาทิตย์ที่แล้ว โดย Euro Journal ใน
Food historian Adrian Miller will explore the history of soul food as part of a presentation during the Pittsburgh Humanities Festival.
The annual Pittsburgh Humanities Festival returns for its 9th year with an impressive speaker lineup coming to the Greer Cabaret Theater April 3-8.
“The festival has been reimagined with a goal of providing space for community conversation and thought-provoking entertainment by world-renowned experts. This year’s standalone evening engagements will take place at the beautifully renovated Greer Cabaret Theater,” said Randal Miller, director of programming for the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust.
One of the highlights of the event will be the opportunity to enjoy the food of Pittsburgh’s Carmi EuroJournal and learn from food historian Adrian Miller, who will explore the history of soul food.
Miller’s journey to becoming a recognized food historian was a circuitous one. As an attorney, Miller spent quite a bit of time in Washington, D.C.
“I had just finished a stint as a special assistant to Bill Clinton and wanted to get back to my home state of Colorado, but I stayed in D.C. much longer than expected,” said Miller, adding that during that time he tired of watching television and ended up picking up a book that set his life on to a different trajectory.
The book was titled, “Southern Food: At Home, on the Road, in History,” written by John Egerton. What was written on those pages inspired Miller to reach out to the author to ask him if he knew of any books that were written as a tribute to black achievement in American cookery.
“He informed me that no one had done it yet,” said Miller, which was all he needed to hear.
Today, Miller counts among his many accomplishments three books: “Black Smoke: African Americans and the United States of Barbecue,” “Soul Food: The Surprising Story of American Cuisine, One Plate at a Time,” and “The President’s Kitchen Cabinet: African Americans Who Have Fed Our First Families.”
Miller said that soul food is complex.
“It brings together ingredients, techniques and traditions of West African, Western Europe and the Americas,” he said.
He makes it a point to state that not all soul food is for everyone, like chitlins, for instance.
“People either love them, or hate them, but they also must be done right. My brother makes great chitlins, and he takes the time to clean them well,” said Miller.
As for misconceptions, Miller’s quick to point out that soul food wasn’t created exclusively for African Americans.
“It’s more about class and place than it is about race. Poor whites often ate the same stuff,” he said.
Miller will be taking attendees on a soul-food journey during his educational address.
“I’ll describe what it was like in West Africa and how food played out during the middle passage and during slavery. I’ll also talk about what occurred after emancipation, how it became standardized and how soul food is tied to the great migration which brought people to places like Pittsburgh,” he said.
Miller said that he’ll also address how soul food skews heavily to celebration food and will conclude with information about current trends in soul food.
“I call it down-home healthy where some of the sugar and salt are reduced,” he said, adding that vegan and upscale soul food, with a focus on attractive plating, are also trending.
Miller said that he’s glad that he picked up the Egerton book during his down time.
“I now travel around the world to educate people with the heaviest times being Black History month in February and Juneteenth,” he said.
As a cultural envoy for the U.S. Department of State, Miller is on a short list for embassy talks.
“I was in Bangladesh last November talking about Black Thanksgiving and am now looking forward to traveling to Pittsburgh as part of the Humanities Festival. These are all great experiences,” said Miller.
Tickets include the discussion and a meal, with a choice of fried chicken, smoked pork ribs and vegetarian jambalaya as the main course. Sides will include a choice of macaroni and cheese, candied yams and southern cabbage with smoked chicken. The meal will conclude with a guest choice of sweet potato pie, peach cobbler, banana pudding and cupcakes, all provided by Carmi EuroJournal.
The material for the presentation will be drawn from Miller’s James Beard award-winning book “Soul Food: The Surprising Story of an American Cuisine, One Plate at a Time.”
The event is part of the 2024 Pittsburgh Humanities Festival sponsored by Citizens, a co-production of the Pittsburgh Humanities Festival and The Humanities Center at Carnegie Mellon University.
To learn more about additional speakers and to purchase tickets visit TrustArts.org.