Knowledge Is Power

Part cookbook. Part manifesto. Created with big Bronx energy, Black Power Kitchen combines 75 mostly plant-based, layered-with-flavor recipes with immersive storytelling, diverse voices, and striking images and photographs that celebrate Black food and Black culture, and inspire larger conversations about race, history, food inequality, and how eating well can be a pathway to personal freedom and self-empowerment.

Ghetto Gastro Presents Black Power Kitchen is the first book from the Bronx-based culinary collective, and it does for the cookbook what Ghetto Gastro has been doing for the food world in general—disrupt, expand, reinvent, and stamp it with their unique point of view. Ghetto Gastro sits at the intersection of food, music, fashion, visual arts, and social activism. They’ve partnered with Nike and Beats by Dre, designed cookware sold through Williams-Sonoma and Target, and won a Future of Gastronomy award from the World’s 50 Best.

Now they bring their multidisciplinary approach to a cookbook, with nourishing recipes that are layered with waves of crunch, heat, flavor, and umami. They are born of the authors’ cultural heritage and travels—from riffs on family dishes like Strong Back Stew and memories of Uptown with Red Velvet Cake to neighborhood icons like Triboro Tres Leches and Chopped Stease (their take on the classic bodega chopped cheese) to recipes redolent of the African diaspora like Banana Leaf Fish and King Jaffe Jollof. All made with a sense of swag.

BIO

Ghetto Gastro is the Bronx-born culinary collective from Jon Gray, Pierre Serrao, and Lester Walker. The group has defined its own lane, merging food, fashion, music, art, and design. Claiming both the beauty and grit from the streets with the aspiration and aesthetics of the finer things, Ghetto Gastro's interdisciplinary approach celebrates the Bronx as a driver of global culture. The crew masterfully blends influences from the African diaspora, global South ingredients, and the pulse of hip-hop to create offerings that address race, identity, and economic empowerment. Since launching in 2012, Ghetto Gastro has gone from hosting underground parties to spearheading large-scale brand campaigns and events with leading fashion designers, artists, and entrepreneurs. Their collaborators and partners include figures like Virgil Abloh, Nike, Cartier, the Serpentine, the Museum of Modern Art, and many more. During the onset of the pandemic in 2020, Ghetto Gastro prioritized Bronx grassroots initiatives and mutual aid. In recognition for feeding their community, the group was nominated for the Basque Culinary World Prize. In 2021, Ghetto Gastro launched its namesake consumer goods brand of pantry items inspired by ancestral ingredients. The collective released a custom line of kitchen appliances, CRUXGG, across Target stores nationwide and a cookware line with Williams Sonoma. Follow along at @ghettogastro on Instagram.

Osayi Endolyn is a James Beard Award-winning writer, whose work explores food and identity. She's been published in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the Wall Street Journal, Time, Eater, Food & Wine, Condé Nast Traveler, Travel + Leisure, and the Oxford American. She's a regular contributor to food-centered storytelling on various TV and audio platforms. Endolyn is the coauthor of the national bestseller The Rise: Black Cooks and the Soul of American Food with Marcus Samuelsson.

REVIEWS

Ghetto Gastro serves up vibrant recipes, interviews, paintings, and photographs. . . . Meals served up with ideals make this a dynamic and delicious cultural celebration.” --Publishers Weekly, Top 10 Cooking Food Books for Fall 2022

“Ghetto Gastro is a part of a movement redirecting the contemporary kitchen, tearing down walls, and breaking boundaries. Their book introduces us to a cuisine steeped in flavor; deep with power, pride, and identity; rich in history; and endowed with the power to unite people around the table.” --Massimo Bottura

"Black Power Kitchen is cookbook as manifesto, a look at the future of food through a perspective rarely given the platform it deserves. But don’t be mistaken: it’s also a fantastic culinary resource. The recipes are so delicious that I didn't even realize many of them were vegetarian or vegan. I encourage everyone to dive deep, devour, enjoy, and learn from this book.” --David Chang

“The Bronx is the world and Ghetto Gastro is our higher authority. Black Power Kitchen is a first-class culinary journey full of the beauty of life. These are the stories and recipes we need.” --Matty Matheson

[H]  Artisan Publishers  /  October 18, 2022

304 pages​