‘The Great Soul Food Cook-Off’ celebrates past and present Black American food traditions

Food historian and scholar Dr. Jessica B. Harris wrote of soul food, “It’s a combination of nostalgia for, and pride in, the food of the ‘who’s’ who came before.” In the 1960s, as African Americans took on the work of retelling their history with pride rather than shame, soul food was as much an affirmation as a diet. The Oprah Winfrey Network and Discovery Plus have partnered to create an original series that highlights the rich tradition and diversity of soul food. “The Great Soul Food Cook-Off” pits eight African-American chefs in a competition to create dishes inspired by the past and present of Black American food traditions. Two of the show’s judges, Eric Adjepong and Melba Wilson, joined “City Lights” host Lois Reitzes via Zoom to talk about the history of soul food and how these ambitious chefs can take it to the next level.

How do you define soul food?

“For me, soul food is food that evokes warm and wonderful memories,” said Wilson. “It’s food that was really the food that people considered to be the bottom of the pit. It was the pig’s ears, the tails, the bitter of the greens — which, of course, we know as the collard greens — and it’s food that had to sustain us while we worked on the plantation. It’s food that epitomizes history, class, sustainability, but it’s food that also tells a story that resonates with its people.”