The Food Griot’s 1st (& Hopefully Not LAST*) Newsletter For 2024!
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 version of the New World’s oldest spirit) • it’s SOUP🥣 etc. Month • MLK + AKA 🩷💚 & Notable January BIRTHDAYS • Upcoming 🧑🏽🍳🍷EVENTs & DEMOs + Something Super SPECIAL to WATCH 📺 in FEBruary Featuring Yours Truly 😎 🎬 🍿…[SCROLL DOWN for ALL a THAT & THEN SOME]…
• Happy New Year(s)! The Gregorian one well underway that started January 1st and the one that cometh — Lunar New Year aka Chinese New Year on February 10th 2024 ushers in the Year of the Dragon! 🐲… when some of my fave traditional Chinese and other Asian savory delights like dumplings, whole fish and noodle dishes abound as they’re believed to bring luck and good fortune…
• On the food (& drink!) front, the month of January is: National Soup Month • Nat’l Slow Cooking Month, Hot Tea Month, Oatmeal Month, Meat Month! … Artichoke and Asparagus Month, Apple and Apricot Month. January’s also known as #Veganuary, #Ginuary and yes, Dry January! (ha!)
• This Month also has a few Food & Drink WEEKS including but not limited to: Mocktail Week (1/14-20), PIZZA week! (1/14-20), and MEAT WEEK (1/28-2/4/24)…
Above: a glimpse at the impeccable service and excellent quality we experienced at Brasserie Le Mistral, our THIRD wonderfully well-fed stop on the “Remembrance Around The World” culinary walking tour I led on Wed 11/8/23 .
Photos 📸 by @thefoodgriot
•January’s also “BE KIND TO FOOD SERVERS MONTH”: So let's be sure to take time the rest of this month (typically the slowest time in this business) to recognize the hard work and commitment of food servers who play such a big role in bringing joy to our dining out tables. I’m simmering up some feature posts spotlighting special places (and the PEOPLE who work there) we went to for TFG (The Food Griot;) -facilitated Remembrance events that overflowed with hospitality, excellent quality, delicious dishes, drinks, wonderful wines and amazing service: Brasserie Le Mistral ( A French Fine Dining Experience), Colombia In Park Slope (Colombian Cuisine & Cocktails), Tava (Turkish & Mediterranean Cuisine), Masalawala & Sons (A Celebration of India’s Yesteryears) , Chela (Mexican Cuisine & Cocktails) and 390 Social Club (Cocktails, Tapas, Events & More). Look out for these spotlight pieces on my website blog posts and social media feeds ********** Heartfelt THANKS to Kim, Maddy! and Maggie at OSH (Old Stone House of Bklyn) for their roles in making the first year of my “TFG Presents Remembrance” event-series come alive ! Plus the culinary talents & brilliance of Crystal Lawrence, Sarah Lohman, Claire Bellerjeau, Dylan Yeats and Steph Ching! With special shout outs to filmmaker Neville Farmer, Ashbell's Smoked Meats, the 5th Ave BID , 390 Social , Uncle Waithley’s Ginger Beer and of course the exceptional ELÉCTRICO Mezcal and it’s top-notch team (Neville, Kathleen, Arthur, Ashbell..). GET IN TOUCH for ways to be part of this new and exciting seasonal tradition designed to better connect us all to ourselves and to each other! (Oct-Nov 2024)
EXCITING NEWS:
Speaking of the above, I’ve got those DISCOUNT CODES for you to buy online that amazing ELÉCTRICO MEZCAL attendees tasted at many of the Remembrance Events. CONTACT ME HERE to RETRIEVE if you haven’t already RECEIVED that from me. For those in NYC a list of local establishments where you can Experience Eléctrico is also in the works…
.+ Mark your calendars for MEZCAL DAY (Oct. 21st 2024) which may feel far away but trust you’ll want to be in the know re: what wonderfulness we’ll be sipping, stirring and shaking up to pay homage to the artistry and craftsmanship of this ages-old and amazing agave spirit… *******************
January 15th was the federal MLK holiday (est. in 1983) and the day of Martin Luther King’s actual birthday (b. Jan 15th 1929) when he would’ve turned 95. I’ve been revisiting all the MLK & Civil Rights-related food & drink convos & content I’ve amassed (from my podcast & radio show days) re: MLK’s fave foods, what folks would prepare for him & his team when he was in their town or at their dinner tables. Many people today don’t readily process that the majority of sit-down eating establishments (Southern or Northern) did not welcome or serve Black Americans in that era, even if we were the ones in the kitchen preparing the food.
Once upon a time I researched the names of some of the many Black women all over the country who’d cooked for, helped fund and feed not only Dr. King but also the other leaders he traveled with throughout the Civil Rights Movement for YEARS from their home kitchens as well as the Black-owned dining establishments some of them owned. Appropriately timed since Jan 15th (his bday) is also Civil Rights Day AND it’s AKA Founder’s Day so still cheers-ing to all a that! 🥂🍾 🩷💚 (Yes, Queen Coretta is an AKA Sorority Sister Ancestor…)
Above: My take on literary legend, Langston Hughe’s (b. Feb 1st 1901) “Hard Daddy” cocktail named after one of his ‘blues’ poems and so christened by a few of his new friends at an impromptu party in 1926 (smack dab in the middle of Prohibition I might add). This is part of the aforementioned and evergrowing TFG Historically-Informed, Ancestrally Inspired COCKTAIL COLLECTION …
Original 📸 by @thefoodgriot
HISTORY Shouldn’t be a MYSTERY! In light of and in SPITE of all the ongoing assaults on serving up inclusive TRUE history these days, I aim to turn those above-mentioned recorded convos & culinary content into an informative video series (to be available during Black History Month). Oh, ALONG WITH the 🍹🍸🥃 👉🏽COCKTAIL COLLECTION of my “ancestrally inspired, historically-informed, culturally rooted” TFG cocktails I came up with in honor of a range of icons….
Check out the THREE featured cocktails in this newsletter and I’d love to know / get some idea of your interest in LIVE or pre-recorded cocktail making demos complete with spirited storytelling… So reach out/ Get in Touch & let a sista know, thanks!
MLK & AKA ! Speaking of SISTAS, you can see in the :30 second mini vid nearby, Coretta Scott King was/is one of my Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Sisters and yes Dr. King himself was an Alpha (Phi Alpha) man which is indeed our brother fraternity. A cosmic coincidence & dot to connect since the ‘birthdays’ of both Alpha Kappa Alpha / AKA (1/15/08 ) and Dr. King (two decades later on 1/15/29) share the same Jan 15th date]…
Toasting in this vid with a delightful (& delish!) pink & green drink I originally designed & demo’ed for a Boston AKA chapter during the pandemic. The base is GIN — a la the event’s Harlem Renaissance theme and the big role gin played in that era incl. all the Black-owned and operated speakeasies uptown. Right on time for #GINuary 😄. I always use ALL NATURAL INGREDIENTS in my mixology. This one has fresh strawberry lemonade for color and a matcha tea powdered sugar rim.
Other notable January Birthdays,
Special shouts out to Chefs: Leah Chase (1/6) BJ Dennis (1/6) Bryant Terry (1/24), Marcus Samuelsson (1/25)…
And HAPPY BIRTHDAY (TODAY! 1/18) to Dear extended-fam friend, culinary crony & colleague on multiple fronts: Sara M. Lomax, President of WURD Radio and Co-Founder of URL Media … [swipe thru photo gallery to see bday pics]
DRY-ISH JANUARY? …January overflows with so many food & drink related good intentions — which helps explain “#Veganuary' & ‘#DryJanuary”. As a core omnivore and the great-grandaughter of a speakeasy ‘entrepreneur' I generally don’t subscribe to either extreme — I’m more of a “GINuary” vs. “Dry January” gal. Pictured here is the delicious DuNord* Prominence Gin cocktail I designed called the "Ginuary Grin” (it made me & the TFG Taste-Test Team SMILE the first time we tried it and thereafter)…Don’t let the naturally purple/violet color of the cocktail fool ya, it tastes …more like a deliciously drinkable version of a lightly spiced crisp apple tart. The recipe, story & demo are to be included in the above mentioned CULTURALLY ROOTED COCKTAIL COLLECTION coming together in time for Black History Month. (*Dunord is a Black-owned spirits company).
📸 : @thefoodgriot
“Mocktail Week” is Jan 14th - 20th (2nd week in Jan) and for starters I’m acknowledging it by repurposing the Mulled “no-Wine” Mocktail recipe I created for The Kwanzaa Menu — those amazingly aromatic healing spices are as relevant to the months of January & February as they were for late December)…And in the interest of balance, that recipe starts out as a large batch mocktail which can easily be converted into a batch cocktail if you have any leftover once the week comes to and end :) Speaking of BALANCE, did you know January is also Get A Balanced Life Month!
(GOOD) WINE withOUT ALCOHOL! This year for the first time you can Try Dry January at GOOD WINE* where they’re offering inventive Low/No Alcohol Wine Options that won't break your New Year's Resolution nor your wine budget. While non-alcoholic wine’s not new it is growing in popularity and greater time and attention’s being applied towards improving how it’s made for better taste and quality. Featured here are a Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon Blend from a S. African producer called Lautus that chef and shopowner Heather Johnston of Good Wine: A Food Lover’s Wineshop carefully selected for its “high aromatic complexity, balance and pair-ability with some of our favorite foods”. Dealcoholized (dealcoholised — British spelling) wine aka non-alcoholic wine starts out as fully fermented wine before having the alcohol removed (no small feat). The key is for the producer to retain as many traditional wine characteristics as possible — so you’re not left drinking overpriced or worse — bad tasting, grape juice. For those interested, I’ll be adding this topic to the Wine Wisdom Workshops I intend to begin offering this Spring. Again, pls reply via email, direct message or your smoke signal of choice if TFG wine wisdom online is of interest to you. (*Good Wine is a Black-owned and operated wine shop located at 327 5th Avenue in Park Slope Brooklyn NYC 11215). See below re: Celebrating Black History Month with GOOD WINE at the UPCOMING CLASS on FEBRUARY 8th…
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Get Ready for a FAB Black History Month! Starting w/ “CHASING FLAVOR With Carla Hall” Feb 1st on MAX (I’m in TWO Episodes!) + a Special GOOD WINE CLASS on Feb 8th…
Mark your calendars for February 1st to immerse yourself in the enchanting world of "Chasing Flavor with Carla Hall" to stream on MAX! That’s right, on Feb 1st on HBO’s MAX 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, "Chasing Flavor!”. There are 6 episodes total and YUP, yours truly shows up in one (ok, TWO! ;) of ‘em... Nope I won’t tell ya’ll which ones so just plan to binge watch ‘em all — and get ready for a bunch of multi-sensory treats you’ll immensely enjoy! [READ FULL POST, SEE BEHIND THE SCENES PICS & WATCH TRAILER ➡️ HERE ⬅️…]
"Chasing Flavor With Carla Hall" : Series Premieres February 1st 2024 On Max!…
CLICK on photo above to access the monthly TFG Culinary & Cultural Calendar I created to help keep the foodie you current + to have reasons to celebrate something (almost) every day! 🥳
Lastly for Now & Certainly Not Least:
Celebrate Black History Month with us at GOOD WINE
on February 8th!
Next GOOD WINE Class is Thurs Feb 8th 7pm featuring notable Black wine producers from around the world
⬇Click pic or BELOW for more iNFO & to GET YOUR TIX⬇
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🟠 Have an Upcoming EVENT and need an informative speaker🎤 to spark things up? …
🔴 …Or an all-around “Better Events Evangelist” to inject engaging food & drink content or a demo 🧑🏽🍳 to the mix?
🟣 Wanna know more about wine 🍷 or spirits 🥃 but tired of the stuffy approach?...
🔵 Need a Custom Designed Drink? …
🟢 Well GET IN TOUCH And I hope we get to see each other much more in 2024❣️
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