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Setting the Table
Setting the Table

Setting the Table

Hosted by Deb Freeman, Setting the Table is a podcast that explores the stories and histories of African American cuisine and foodways. From Sunday barbeques to the spirits in your cocktails, African Americans have created the foundation of modern American cuisine, yet African American food is one of the least explored food genres. Setting the Table illuminates the ways that African Americans have shaped how this country eats and drinks by exploring the historical events that have influenced the formation of Black foodways in America while also drawing a direct line to the people who are moving the Black culinary narrative forward. Setting the Table is part of Whetstone Radio Collective. Whetstone Radio Collective creates storytelling dedicated to food origins and culture, with original content centering the perspectives of global majority populations and diasporas. You can learn more about this podcast at whetstoneradio.com, on Twitter @whetstoneradio, on TikTok and Instagram @whetstonemedia and subscribe to our Spotify and YouTube channel, Whetstone Media, for more podcast content. You can learn more about all things happening at Whetstone at WhetstoneMedia.com.

Available Episodes 10

We bring you a very important episode of Whetstone Audio Dispatch. Recently, host Stephen Satterfield spoke with C.W. Mallery, a Black farmer in El Paso, Colorado who has been the victim of racist terrorism on his own property. He and his wife Nicole, his farm and his animals have been experiencing various horrific forms of violence and anti-Black terrorism. 

C.W. and Nicole relocated to Colorado after a hurricane displaced them. Part of his farm, Freedom Acres Ranch, mission is the education of inner city youth and underserved communities about where food comes from to encourage everyone to grow their own foods and pursue careers in agriculture. 

Call to Action: 

There are ways we can all help C.W. 

You can donate to his CashApp: $Blackfarmland or their GoFundMe: https://gofund.me/6269d6f4 

You can sign the petition: https://chng.it/fSz6zjtPcy  and share this episode to raise awareness and provide further support. Funds will be used for attorney fees, enhanced security systems, drones, night vision, thermal vision, privacy fencing, fence repair, security teams and equipment.

If you’re local to El Paso, Colorado there’s a protest at the Denver Capital 2/17/2023 at 9am - 1pm you can join to demand investigation, termination and hate crime charges against Deputy Emory Gerhart. Demand Emory Gerhart be placed on the Brady List and all cases that Emory presided over be investigated for lies, discrimination, bias and false accusations. 

You can visit and stay on Freedom Acres Ranch for a campout the weekend of 2/17/2023- 2/19/2023. 

Support for Legislation: Caution Against Racially Exploitive Non-Emergencies Act (C.A.R.E.N Act) works to criminalize racially motivated emergency calls. Will make it a hate crime to weaponize the police against people of color. 

Call the following to demand an investigation into hate crimes, refusal to provide service to Black people, civil rights vioolations and violation of victim rights with threats and retaliation against Black people. 

Governor Polis: 3038662471

Attorney General Phil Weiser: 7205086000

Senator Hickenlooper: 3032441628

Representative Negeuse: 9703723971

FBI Denver Office: 3036297171

NAACP National:  4105805777

ACLU National: 2125492500

This show was produced by Executive Producer Celine Glasier and edited by Ilgin G. Korugan.

Mark talks to the groundbreaking chef, Asma Khan, about the importance of the Anglo-Indian influence, how food and cooking are undervalued, and the beauty of interfamily lessons across generations.


Follow Mark on Twitter at @bittman, and on Facebook and Instagram at @markbittman. Subscribe to Mark's newsletter The Bittman Project at www.bittmanproject.com.

For the season finale of Setting the Table, Deb explores one of her favorite topics, Black bakers and baking. From biscuits to yellow cake, baking has always been a huge part of Black foodways. On this episode, Baker and cookbook author Cheryl Day shares her thoughts on the legacy of Black bakers and preserving recipes, then chef, baker, and TV personality Carla Hall joins us to share her thoughts on biscuits, and representing Black baking in media.

Setting the Table is part of the Whetstone Radio Collective. Learn more about this episode of Setting the Table at www.whetstoneradio.com, on IG and Twitter at @whetstoneradio, and YouTube at /WhetstoneRadio.

During the civil rights era, Black women to used their skills as chefs and cooks to support social movements in this country. On this episode, Deb is joined by scholar and writer Suzanne Cope to explores the legacies of two such heroes, Aylene Quin, who helped feed and support the Civil Rights movement in Mississippi, and Cleo Silvers, who helped create the Black Panther Party's Free Breakfast for Children program. Deb also checks in with Arley Bell, a millenial baker who believes she can make a difference in food and activism though her beautifully decorated cakes and pastries.

Setting the Table is part of the Whetstone Radio Collective. Learn more about this episode of Setting the Table at www.whetstoneradio.com, on IG and Twitter at @whetstoneradio, and YouTube at /WhetstoneRadio.

One of the lasting effects of the Great Migration is the movement of Black foodways, and one of the best examples of this movement is barbecue. On this episode, Deb explores the legacy of Black barbeque in Los Angeles with food journalist Mona Holmes and BBQ pitmaster Lonnie Edwards.

Setting the Table is part of the Whetstone Radio Collective. Learn more about this episode of Setting the Table at www.whetstoneradio.com, on IG and Twitter at @whetstoneradio, and YouTube at /WhetstoneRadio.

Read the full transcript here: https://www.whetstonemagazine.com/stt8-transcript

On this episode, we take a deeper dive into the time-honored American tradition of Barbeque and its beginnings in Virginia by exploring the history of early pitmasters and the barbecue traditions that spread throughout the South and beyond with food historians Adrian Miller and Joshua Fitzwater.

Setting the Table is part of the Whetstone Radio Collective. Learn more about this episode of Setting the Table at www.whetstoneradio.com, on IG and Twitter at @whetstoneradio, and YouTube at /WhetstoneRadio.

Read the full transcript here: https://www.whetstonemagazine.com/stt7t-transcript

Where does Black food go from here? How are today’s chefs pushing the narrative of Black food forward? This episode takes a look forward be talking to prominent chefs on the cutting edge of African American cuisine. Food influencer Scotty Scott and chef Adrienne Cheatham share their influences and visions for what Black food can be, with a foreword from Washington Post food writer Aaron Hutcherson.

Setting the Table is part of the Whetstone Radio Collective. Learn more about this episode of Setting the Table at www.whetstoneradio.com, on IG and Twitter at @whetstoneradio, and YouTube at /WhetstoneRadio.

Read the full transcript here: https://www.whetstonemagazine.com/stt-5-transcript

Down home cooking, also known as soul food, is African American cuisine stemming from the days of enslavement, spread throughout the country through the Great Migration, and enjoyed everywhere as comfort food. This episode explores the complicated relationship between Black chefs and soul food. Chef & culinary historian Therese Nelson shares her thoughts on soul food as a concept, and then chefs Chris Scott and Mashama Bailey share their individual experiences with making soul food.

Setting the Table is part of the Whetstone Radio Collective. Learn more about this episode of Setting the Table at www.whetstoneradio.com, on IG and Twitter at @whetstoneradio, and YouTube at /WhetstoneRadio.

Read the full transcript here: https://www.whetstonemagazine.com/stt-5-transcript

African American foodways have not only influenced the way that Americans eat, but also how we drink as well. This episode will explore the stories and legacies of Black brewers and distillers. Mount Vernon's Steve Bashore shares the history of the enslaved-distillers who made George Washington's Whiskey, Historian Theresa McCulla recounts the story of Patsy Young, a runaway slave who was also a brewer, Victoria Eady Butler of Unlcle Nearest shares her experiences carrying on the legacy of her Great-Great-Grandfather Nearest Green, and Kim Harris of Harlem Hops tells us how she and her team are supporting diversity to the craft brewing industry.

Setting the Table is part of the Whetstone Radio Collective. Learn more about this episode of Setting the Table at www.whetstoneradio.com, on IG and Twitter at @whetstoneradio, and YouTube at /WhetstoneRadio.

 

It’s been a few generations since the Great Migration, and we starting to see a resurgence of African-Americans deciding to return to agriculture and take up farming. On this episode, Deb speaks to current farmers about the reasons they farm, and how they are working to change the difficult relationship between Black Americans and farming. We hear from Ashlee Johnson-Geisse of Brown Girl Farms about why she decided to start a farm in the middle of the 2020 lockdown, Kamal Bell of Sankofa Farms about how his farm's youth programs support his community, and finally Olivia Watkins of the Black Farmer Fund about how she's helping Black farmers become financially sustainable.

Setting the Table is part of the Whetstone Radio Collective. Learn more about this episode of Setting the Table at www.whetstoneradio.com, on IG and Twitter at @whetstoneradio, and YouTube at /WhetstoneRadio.