How to pronounce “soul food” in English

OK, what is Black culture?Soul food, rap music, R&B. They can rattle them off.OK, what is Latino culture?

I mean, obviously, you've done some amazing work around Chicago stories, right?Yeah "Soul Food," "Barbershop." Yep."Row Bounce." Right? I did about-- at least about six, seven movies here.

I really don't. They're falling over for you, too, though.This is our soul food.

I really don't. They're falling over for you, too, though.This is our soul food.

And he decided not to run for re-election, so that's when I went all in on the soul food book.So to research this soul food book, I read 3,000 oral histories of formerly enslaved people and looked for all references for food.I read 500 cookbooks.

And I had so much information that I had enough to write five books.So I organized the soul food book this way.I created a representative soul food meal, and I wrote a chapter about every part of the meal and explained what it is, how it gets on the soul food plate,

So I organized the soul food book this way.I created a representative soul food meal, and I wrote a chapter about every part of the meal and explained what it is, how it gets on the soul food plate,what it means for the culture.

OK. Side dishes. Greens.And in soul food culture, the popular greens are kale, collards, cabbage, turnip, and mustard.So if you've discovered kale in the last five to 10 years, welcome to the party.

Most of the restaurants that we read about in Harlem are essentially fried chicken places, fried fish places, and barbecue places.There are a few soul food places, and then also there are a lot of Chinese restaurants.In the 1920s, Chinese food was very, very popular.

So it's soul music first-- not in a religious context, but in this popular jazz context.And then it's soul brothers, soul sisters, soul food because it gets slapped on other aspects of the culture.So we could easily be calling this food funky food, but that's not popular, right?

So I talked about chicken-- either fried or smothered.Most of the soul food desserts are actually riffs off old British desserts.

So I talked about chicken-- either fried or smothered.I find soul food cooks are most proud of their pound cake recipes.

We were encouraged to go to this restaurant called Martha Lou's, which is an insane-- at that time, she would have been about 82 years old,cooking southern-style soul food.For me to eat that style of food, I was just kind of enamored from day one.

We kind of just lift it, right.You look at soul food.You look at barbecue.

And then, because I care about my subjects so much, I decided to eat my way through the country.So I went to 150 soul food restaurants-- 35 cities and 15 states.I know, you're surprised I'm still alive.

So let me just quickly go through the meal.If you have any familiarity with soul food or with southern food, you know, please show your appreciation for these ingredients.I'm from the black faith tradition, so I'm used to call and response-- that's what we call it.

So that is pretty much my writing career, so let's get in to talk about soul food.So you probably have heard the term soul food explained as something that-- it really bubbles up in pop culture in the 1960sbecause there are these strong expressions of black identity-- the Black Power movement, black is beautiful.

We're going to talk about that a little bit later as part of a continuation of that culture.So let's talk about soul food.How does that really get the connotation that it has today?

So I talked about chicken-- either fried or smothered.That was a hallmark of soul food until whole animal cooking was recently discovered by fine dining chefs.

Can anyone tell me why I'm wearing this mask?I would say Mitchell's Soul Food just has one cook and a very small staff, if you want to go to Vanderbilt. That is absolutely fantastic.

There are a lot of other shows, web series, that are built just for the Internet.And when they walk into the soul food restaurant.

So in this presentation, we're just going to go through the history of soul food, going to tell you-- talk about where the term soul food comes from,and then talk about the early history of soul food, and then connect that with the Harlem Renaissance.And then I'm going to go through a typical soul food meal, and then give you my thoughts on the current trends in soul

and then talk about the early history of soul food, and then connect that with the Harlem Renaissance.And then I'm going to go through a typical soul food meal, and then give you my thoughts on the current trends in soulfood. So first, let me tell you about my journey.

Got to the point where I was singing spirituals in my office, so-- thanks for laughing at that corny-- there's going to be more.So I was going to open up a soul food restaurant.So if you're familiar with the Denver dining scene, I actually had the inside track on a place called Cuba Cuba on 12th and Delaware.

Most people go point south.So one of my arguments in my book is that soul food is really a European meal with West African influences.When you eat with a person of African heritage in the Caribbean, Latin America, or South America, you usually are eating an African meal

So a manifesto from some black power advocates was leaked to the New York Times, and it said white people cannot understand things like ham hocks, cornbread,and listed all these other kind of southern soul food items.Now, this was news to white Southerners because they'd been eating the same food for 200 years, but soul becomes black, and southern becomes white.

So I talked about chicken-- either fried or smothered.I don't think sweet tea is part of the soul food canon.

So I talked about chicken-- either fried or smothered.All right. Soul food desserts.

So I talked about chicken-- either fried or smothered.All right. Soul food innovation.

He said, yeah, for the most part, nobody's taken on that story.And so with no qualifications at all except for eating a lot of soul food and cooking it some, that started the journey.So I did make it back to Denver.

And then I wrote a chapter about red drink because I believe red Kool-Aid is the official soul food drink.Now, you must understand in soul food culture, red is a color and a flavor.We don't call things cherry or tropical punch or strawberry.

But we're really playing out the tangible and intangible, and that gets to the heart of the soul concept.But for the next 400 years, soul food-- soul food is really religious in connotation, so it meant doing anything to edify your spiritual life.So it meant listening to a sermon, studying scripture, listening to hymns or singing hymns.

So I talked about chicken-- either fried or smothered.So now, instead of going to the soul food restaurants, you're in these other restaurants.

So I talked about chicken-- either fried or smothered.Now, pigs feet are called pigs feet in soul food joints, but in a restaurant they're called trotters.

So I talked about chicken-- either fried or smothered.Now, this is a place called Bully Soul Food in Jackson, Mississippi.

So I talked about chicken-- either fried or smothered.Now, the reason I love Bully Soul Food is that this table is right off the main dining room.

So I talked about chicken-- either fried or smothered.This is from a place called Hard Knocks Cafe which is an Asian-American run soul food joint in San Francisco.

the family, after this big incident, the family just closed their hands again, and they prayed.So to me, that was a throwback to soul food, around the dinner table, and the food, and every-- And I'd even tell the actors to do it.Everybody just started overlapping, talking dialogue, talking about food, eat that hot sauce, don't put the hot sauce on that, you better

So great to be here with you.So I'm going to start off by admitting something that immediately loses me all street cred on the subject of soul food and barbecue.I was born and raised in Denver, Colorado.

So this is the food that I grew up eating.So in this presentation, we're just going to go through the history of soul food, going to tell you-- talk about where the term soul food comes from,and then talk about the early history of soul food, and then connect that with the Harlem Renaissance.

Wrote a chapter about hot sauce.And then I wrote a chapter about red drink because I believe red Kool-Aid is the official soul food drink.Now, you must understand in soul food culture, red is a color and a flavor.

I felt a connection.So that is pretty much my writing career, so let's get in to talk about soul food.So you probably have heard the term soul food explained as something that-- it really bubbles up in pop culture in the 1960s

and the enslaved only had access to those on the weekends and special occasions.So just remember, a lot of what we think of with soul food-- the fried chicken, the glorious cakes, those kind of things-- that was celebration food.All right. So after emancipation, millions of African-Americans leave the South for other parts of the country.

In the 1920s, Chinese food was very, very popular.The go to dish was called chop suey, but later on you'll see things like soul rolls, which are soul food egg rolls.We're going to talk about that a little bit later as part of a continuation of that culture.

Are there certain spices or certain like, 10 things, for example, that we have to have stocked?Yeah, yeah, so we done soul food there, like our food, Caribbean food, during a party going on ..

And then on the 1st of July, we have what's called our taste of Juneteenth and that's our Festival, our food Festivalwhere we're going to have all of the African diasporas between Afro-Latin, Jamaican, African, then soul food,of course, and have all our vendors and retailers out there to, again, celebrate the culture of Juneteenth and the heritage of the African-American community.

We can also learn a lot about food from the African diaspora.Because there's five original cuisines in America that all stem out of Blackness, right, lowcountry, Southern food or soul food,think about Cajun and Creole, and then barbecue.

I was in politics at a think tank, then I worked for Colorado's governor.And he decided not to run for re-election, so that's when I went all in on the soul food book.So to research this soul food book, I read 3,000 oral histories of formerly enslaved people and looked for all references for food.

And we're still living with the legacy of that today.So if I were to ask you, hey, name somebody on TV who's known for soul food-- who would you say?Don't feel bad if you're struggling.