Tanya Holland’s California Soul

 Classic soul food gets a decidedly West Coast twist in Tanya Holland’s California Soul. From the chef and restaurateur behind Oakland’s acclaimed Brown Sugar Kitchen, this beautifully-presented cookbook is packed with more than eighty comfort-filled recipes, which each take their inspiration from the ingredients, techniques and traditions that African Americans (including Holland’s own family) brought along and adapted to their new homes during the Great Migration. Divided by season into four sections, these tasty riffs on Black Southern fare are all made with a twenty-first century sensibility for using seasonal, sustainable and locally-sourced ingredients. Think Dungeness Crab Beignets; Whole Duck Jambalaya with Duck Confit Legs; Zucchini-Scallion Waffles with Toasted Pecan Romesco; Collard Green Tabbouleh; Rhubarb Upside-Down Cake; Peach and Pecan Clafoutis; and so much more. Interspersed throughout these recipes, you’ll also find stunning portraits and profiles on contemporary Black Californian farmers, brewers, winemakers and coffee roasters. Also featured are “historical detours,” which shed light on everything from the Great Migration and the Black Panther Party’s free breakfast program to Black cowboys and African crop and harvest traditions in America, as well as the history of African Americans in some of California’s major cities. A moving tribute to modern soul food and the innumerable ways that African Americans have shaped what we eat and how we eat it, Tanya Holland’s California Soul is sure to make an invaluable addition to any home chef’s cookbook collection. 

•8.25″W x 1″D x 10.25″H

•by Tanya Holland with Maria C. Hunt and Dr. Kelley Fanto Deetz
•photography by Aubrie Pick
•foreword by Alice Walker
•hardcover
•258 pages