Food Truck Startup Journal Entry #6 “Book Review: Sylvia’s Soul Food”
4/25/2023 -
Summary in a sentence — Arguably the most prominent soul food chef and restaurateur in American history Sylvia Woods shares her soul food recipes.
What is it? Sylvia’s Soul Food: Recipes from Harlem’s World Famous Restaurant is a cook book by Sylvia Woods and Christopher Styler. Woods is called the “Queen of Soul Food” and owner and namesake for the world famous Sylvia’s Restaurant. Styler is a prominent food writer who wrote the Italian food cookbook Primi Piatti and articles for several national magazines. Together they partnered to communicate Wood’s recipes to the reader.
What I learned — The story of Slyvia’s is a successful Great Migration journey within the broader scope of American History.
In the introduction she explains her story as a lifelong cook and entrepreneur from Hemingway, SC. The Woods moved from “Hemingway to Harlem’’ and Slyvia began her food prep journey as a waitress in the Johnson Restaurant. The Johnson family sold the restaurant to Sylvia and she changed the name of the restaurant to her own. After a 1979 New York magazine article from restaurant critic Gael Greene gave the restaurant great publicity the positive reputation grew.
This book shares Sylvia’s hearty soul food recipes. The categories of the recipes range from breakfast items, to types of meat, starches, veggies and deserts. It’s a roadmap for anyone seeking to cook soul food.
How I will seek to apply — H.E.A.R.T. Food is an interaction with soul food. My goal is honoring the past while encouraging our customers to embrace the healthiest versions of each dish.
I think it’s also important to say that my goal is not to directly use the exact recipes or this or other soul food cookbooks. Rather I want to try to cultivate the work of many soul food chefs like Slyvia Woods. Like the essence of good learning itself I hope to interact with many ingredients in order to make new recipes.
