BOUND TO
THE FIRE
How Virginia’s Enslaved Cooks Helped
Invent American Cuisine.
A living legacy of plantation culture explored through recipes.
“One of the Best Books about Food!”
-The Smithsonian
In grocery store aisles and kitchens across the country, smiling images of “Aunt Jemima” and other historical and fictional black cooks can be found on various food products and in advertising. Although these images are sanitized and romanticized in American popular culture, they represent the untold stories of enslaved men and women who had a significant impact on the nation’s culinary and hospitality traditions even as they were forced to prepare food for their oppressors.
"Top Narrative Food & Drink Books of 2017"
-Annie Bostrom
Kelley Fanto Deetz draws upon archaeological evidence, cookbooks, plantation records, and folklore to present a nuanced study of the lives of enslaved plantation cooks from colonial times through emancipation and beyond.
“Kelley Deetz has given us a powerful analysis of the life of those ancestors whose hands stirred the pots in sorrow's kitchen.”
Online Reviews
Bound to the Fire not only uncovers their rich and complex stories and illuminates their role in plantation culture, but it celebrates their living legacy with the recipes that they created and passed down to future generations.
PUBLIC
BOOKS
[Read Here]
In her final chapter, “In Memory: Kitchen Ghosts,” Deetz addresses public memory, public history, and plantation tourism...
BACKSTORY RADIO
[Listen Here]
WHAT’S COOKING?A HISTORY OF FOOD IN AMERICA#0225 | 11.29.19 | REBROADCAST
SAVOR
VIRGINIA
[Read Here]
Bound to the Fire: How Virginia’s Enslaved Cooks Helped Invent American Cuisine explores the lasting contributions of the early slave kitchens...
