Jubilee - by Toni Tipton-Martin (Hardcover)

About the Book

Adapted from historical texts and rare African-American cookbooks, the 125 recipes within this book paint a rich, varied picture of the true history of African-American cooking: a cuisine far beyond soul food.

Book Synopsis

"A celebration of African American cuisine right now, in all of its abundance and variety."--Tejal Rao, The New York Times

JAMES BEARD AWARD WINNER - IACP AWARD WINNER - IACP BOOK OF THE YEAR - TONI TIPTON-MARTIN NAMED THE 2021 JULIA CHILD AWARD RECIPIENT

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times Book Review - The New Yorker - NPR - Chicago Tribune - The Atlantic - BuzzFeed - Food52

Throughout her career, Toni Tipton-Martin has shed new light on the history, breadth, and depth of African American cuisine. She's introduced us to black cooks, some long forgotten, who established much of what's considered to be our national cuisine. After all, if Thomas Jefferson introduced French haute cuisine to this country, who do you think actually cooked it?

In Jubilee, Tipton-Martin brings these masters into our kitchens. Through recipes and stories, we cook along with these pioneering figures, from enslaved chefs
 to middle- and upper-class writers and entrepreneurs. With more than 100 recipes, from classics such as Sweet Potato Biscuits, Seafood Gumbo, Buttermilk Fried Chicken, and Pecan Pie with Bourbon to lesser-known but even more decadent dishes like Bourbon & Apple Hot Toddies, Spoon Bread, and Baked Ham Glazed with Champagne, Jubilee presents techniques, ingredients, and dishes that show the roots of African American cooking--deeply beautiful, culturally diverse, fit for celebration.

Praise for Jubilee

"There are precious few feelings as nice as one that comes from falling in love with a cookbook. . . . New techniques, new flavors, new narratives--everything so thrilling you want to make the recipes over and over again . . . this has been my experience with Toni Tipton-Martin's Jubilee."--Sam Sifton, The New York Times

"Despite their deep roots, the recipes--even the oldest ones--feel fresh and modern, a testament to the essentiality of African-American gastronomy to all of American cuisine."--The New Yorker

"Jubilee is part-essential history lesson, part-brilliantly researched culinary artifact, and wholly functional, not to mention deeply delicious."--Kitchn

"Tipton-Martin has given us the gift of a clear view of the generosity of the black hands that have flavored and shaped American cuisine for over two centuries."--Taste

Review Quotes

"Toni Tipton-Martin, I thank you for writing Jubilee. . . . Your graceful writing beckons, your immaculate historical research illuminates, your recipes are ones I will be cooking . . . for years to come. I let out an audible gasp upon seeing the beautiful black hands gracing Jerrelle Guy's lovely photographs, those hands as much a visual reminder of what has been missing for so long from American culinary culture as they hold promise for a possible, more equitable future."--Adeena Sussman, The New York Times Style Magazine, "The Cookbooks You Need for 2020"

"A comprehensive account of African American recipes and foodways. From the kitchens run by enslaved people to the family tables of freemen to the careers of entrepreneurs and chefs, Jubilee covers the breadth of a true American cuisine."--The Washington Post

"Tipton-Martin lays out a history of black cooking, drawn from countless sources, including her own vast cookbook collection, that proves if any cuisine is American, it's this one."--Eater

"This book is major and important. . . . In providing recipes that cover so much history, we will all get to honor generations of African American cooks in our own kitchens."--Julia Turshen, Kitchn

"Equal parts historical highlight reel and cookbook, Jubilee captures centuries' worth of joy, pain, and effort from black chefs across the diaspora and distills them into recipes that carefully guide and educate."--Bon Appétit

"Unique and valuable . . . Easy to follow and elegantly precise, it is clear that these recipes are the result of years of devoted artistry."--Booklist (starred review)

"[A] fascinating cookbook . . . Tipton-Martin enjoys unparalleled skills at building bridges between the past and present, making this volume inspirational on many levels."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Like all the best cookbooks . . . this one will feed a lot more than just your stomach."--Chowhound

About the Author

Toni Tipton-Martin is a culinary journalist and community activist and the author of the James Beard Award-winning The Jemima Code. Her collection of more than three hundred African American cookbooks has been exhibited at the James Beard House, and she has twice been invited to the White House to participate in First Lady Michelle Obama's programs to raise a healthier generation of kids. Tipton-Martin is a founding member of the Southern Foodways Alliance and Foodways Texas. In 2021, she was named the Julia Child Award recipient.