About My Books

Soul Food: The Surprising Story of an American Cuisine, One Plate at a Time (University of North Carolina Press, August 2013)

I’ve now finished my first book which is a history of soul food. It will be published by the University of North Carolina Press in August 2013. In my book, really a love letter to African American cooks, I create a representative soul food meal, and I write a separate chapter on each part of the meal. So, there are chapters on fried chicken, greens, black-eyed peas, etc. In an informative and entertaining way, I discuss the history of each food item and answer the following questions:

• What is the food item?
• How did it get on the soul food plate?
• What does the food item mean for African American culture?

Most chapters have three recipes: a traditional, a health conscious and a contemporary version of how to prepare a particular dish. After reading my book, anyone should be able to prepare a soul food meal and understand its cultural context.

Advance Praise for Soul Food:

“In Soul Food: The Surprising Story of an American Cuisine, One Plate at a Time, Adrian Miller presents readers with a tasty treatise that masterfully captures the history and culture of African American food: the labors of those who prepare it, the dignity of those who serve it, and the joy of those who eat it.”

–Jessica B. Harris Ph.D. author of High on The Hog: A Culinary Journey from Africa to America

“In his thought-provoking and persuasive book, Adrian Miller mounts a spirited defense of the diet that African Americans have identified with for generations. He makes a convincing case that the essentials of a make-do diet in hard times–field peas, yams, greens–deserve an honored place among the universal comfort foods that contemporary Americans eat for enjoyment and good health.”

–John Egerton, author of Southern Food: At Home, on the Road, in History

“A thrilling celebration and thoughtful commentary. Miller’s informative and delightful book offers us a ticket to explore both the history of soul food and its relationship to the greater African American experience.”

–Ronni Lundy, author of Shuck Beans, Stack Cakes and Honest Fried Chicken: The Heart and Soul of Southern Country Kitchens

 

NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER AT UNC PRESS , AMAZON.COM and Barnesandnoble.com. ORDER NOW TO GET YOUR COPY HOT OFF THE PRESSES IN AUGUST! YOUR FRIENDS WILL BE “GREENS” WITH ENVY! Please consider pre-ordering my book. Good pre-order sales will help my book get noticed in other places.

 

My Next Book: African American Presidential Chefs

While researching Soul Food, I learned that every U.S. president has had an African American on their culinary staff either as the head cook or as an assistant cook/chef. It’s a rich hidden history that I’m excited to share. In addition, I’m currently pitching a one hour television documentary on the same subject to several cable television networks.

Other Books

I plan to write additional books on the African American barbecue tradtion and history as well as a comprehensive and definitive work on all African American cooking (going beyond soul food).