Which chef and food historian wrote the 2017 book The Cooking Gene?

Michael W. Twitty wrote the 2017 book The Cooking Gene.

Twitty is a chef, food writer, and historian whose work explores the connections among African American foodways, slavery, agriculture, identity, and ancestry. The Cooking Gene follows his personal and historical investigation through the food cultures of the American South.

The book is more than a collection of recipes. It examines how ingredients such as rice, okra, and beans moved through the Atlantic world and how cooking practices were shaped by African, European, Indigenous, and African American communities. Twitty’s approach combines memoir, genealogy, culinary research, and history.