This year instead of celebrating Juneteenth on just one busy day (a hump day at that!) I’ve decided to digitally pair one or more TFG-curated Juneteenth recipes to each of the 17 Days o Freedoms identified and showcased at 17:17 (5:17pm EST) each day by the Prospect Park Poster Series creator — my colleague and friend, Grey Jones between June 19th - July 5th. I’ll blogpost the recipes here on the TFG website for each of those 17 days complete with my “Tiny Bites and/or Big Sips” of historical and cultural context PLUS the option for you to secure your own digital download of each recipe. DAY 1: Beet Red Velvet Cupcakes are paired with “The (first) Freedom to Keep and Raise One's Own Children”. Kids of all kinds love cupcakes. Baking together can be a beautiful bonding moment across the generations for families big or small. Early (enslaved and later emancipated) American Black women…
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This long weekend tune in to hear MILK STREET Radio’s replay of their (start of) SUMMER SHOW featuring yours truly, Tonya Hopkins (aka @TheFoodGriot) talking with show creator and host Christopher Kimball as we dive into the foods of summer. In our convo I give him (and therefore ya’ll) the scoop 🍨 on the Black innovators who made America’s ice cream 🍦industry what it is today….
Also in this. episode: somebody named Bill Alexander reveals the history and fate of the tomato 🍅 and artist Ana Inciardi tracks down a tomato from her family's past; …Dan Pashman gives a lesson on his favorite ways to eat watermelon and corn; and then they bake up a Fresh Peach and Raspberry Crostata….ENJOY!
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This April 2024 calendar collage gives you just a glimpse of some of the food, drink, cultural, historical and sometimes personal “holidays” happening this month that I think are interesting and suspect you will too. Especially if I happen to have taken good pics relevant to the topic or in some cases have a boatload of food or beverage beauty shots I snapped and saved over the years and wanna show 'em off (i mean SHARE them ;) with you for the visual side of the storytelling. On a more serious note, I check a lot of sources to compile this TFG calendar and am more often than not startled by the blatant “lies of omission” so many mainstream ‘daily holiday’ calendar platforms perpetuate. Outright exclusions of entire cultures, ethnicities, historical facts! ... serving up only slivers of the story. Which is a big part of my motivation for doing this one…
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March's 2024 DAILY "TFG Culinary & Cultural Calendar" is in progress. It takes a lot of time and resources to create an ongoing interactive Calendar featuring all the fab foodie reasons to celebrate something (almost) very single day. Which is why i’m always encouraging people to support via my Patreon to help speed things up 😆… + it would also help to know if ANYBODY s utilizing this fun interactive tool & in what ways if so! LEAVE a COMMENT or DM me TO LET A SISTA KNOW, THANKS!
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Williams, better known as Chef Stikxz, the second part of which is a name conferred unto her during her childhood because of her small stick-like frame, is doubling down on a holiday tradition inherited from her Jamaican-born parents. She does so while preparing two meals, directing kitchen colleagues and answering questions from a witty journalist.
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FEATURING: Reasons to Celebrate Something (Almost) Every Day This Year🥳 •DRY-ish ⏳ JANUARY vs.🍸 GIN-uary & •WINE🍷 withOUT Alcohol (+ Get your discount code on a super-premium spirit!) •it’s SOUP🥣 etc. Month! •MLK + AKA 🩷💚 •Upcoming 🧑🏽🍳🍷EVENTs + Something Super SPECIAL to 📺 WATCH in FEBruary 🎬 🍿…
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Check Out TFG's Culinary & Cultural Calendar for Fab Foodie Reasons to Celebrate Something (almost!) Every Single Day…
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Have you immersed yourself yet in the enchanting world of "Chasing Flavor with Carla Hall" that’s streaming on MAX?!
If you haven’t then it’s time to join Chef Carla Hall, acclaimed chef and arguably America’s fave food TV personality — as she globe trots to uncover the various roots of many iconic American dishes on a delectable journey in her new show called "Chasing Flavor!” available on HBO’s MAX …
There are 6 episodes total and and yours truly shows up in one (ok, TWO! ;) of ‘em... Nope I won’t tell you which ones so just plan to binge watch ‘em all — and get ready for a bunch of multi-sensory treats you’ll immensely enjoy! Carla's effervescent energy and genuine passion for the foods and the people she encounters…
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Tonya Hopkins and Kenya Parham have some delicious suggestions. They are the creators of a new online miniseries for the Food Network called "The Kwanzaa Menu." And you two know one another.
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It seems only natural that Food Network chose Hopkins, who wrote the Kwanzaa entry in the Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, to host its first show focused on Kwanzaa, the annual celebration held Dec. 26 to Jan. 1 that recognizes African-American traditions and cultural heritage.
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Exciting news -- Food Network created special content from episodes of “The Kwanzaa Menu” I hosted that ran on air this year on the Food Network channel!
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Okra, an edible green seed pod of West African origin, is a staple of the American diet and base ingredient for many dishes that make up Black foodways. It is believed to have arrived to the Americas through African women who wove it into their braided hair before they were brought into the trans-Atlantic slave trade.
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You won’t want to miss this! On Saturday 11/11 aka Veteran’s Day (formerly known as REMEMBRANCE DAY join me & a brilliant line up of culinary & history colleagues from 5:30 -8:30pm for a fabulous event featuring artisan foods, an award-winning film screening+filmmaker and amazing drink brought to you by Eléctrico Mezcal Artesanal! About REMEMBRANCE FESTIVAL: Food & Public History Advisor to The Old Stone House (OSH),Tonya Hopkins, aka The Food Griot, hosts this onsite event for drinks and small plates in recognition of the global season of Remembrance. On Sat 11/11/23 which is Veterans Day (formerly known as Remembrance Day) join us as we explore historical, cultural and traditional “Days of Remembrance” that take place around the globe during the Autumn season. …
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Celebrate The Season of Remembrance! Spirited Storytelling + Flavorful Food, Drink, History & Cultural Connections: Strolling & Sampling Through The Slope…
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“We Rise By Lifting Others!” so Let’s Rise Up to that Challenge b/c Bonbon Lakay Needs (Y)OUR Support Now More Than Ever. Check out their Pay It Forward initiative for win-win ways to help not only this wonderful specialty foods shop but also the many communities it benefits beyond just the neighborhood where it’s based…
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The Sidecar was my signature drink once upon a time — the ‘Hennessy Sidecar’ to be precise — back when that category-leading cognac was instrumental in helping revitalize trendy Americans interest in rediscovering (and more importantly consuming) “classic cocktails”. Hennessy was also the main account I was assigned to at the then-called Kirshenbaum Bond & Partners / KB&P (advertising agency) in the late 90’s early 2000’s….
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“I think I might have been the only African American person here, and that’s not unusual,” said Tonya Hopkins, a food writer and TV personality known as the Food Griot.
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Black / African-American music has had the most profound impact on music the world over. With that in mind, last June (Black Music Month) on my weekly radio show “Savory & Sweet…” I featured my brilliant wine work colleague/co-worker “AK” — aka Akinsheye Brunson, who shared how Hip Hop helped him carve out a career path in the wine world, and how music & wine connects us to ourselves — and to each other.
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No matter anyway, seeing as I opted in for #GINuary instead — which inspired me to make the delish drink you see here: A creatively, naturally colored, cocktail I came up with using DU NORD's Prominence Gin — as the ‘prominent' ingredient .
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