Explore African Cuisines with Chef Marie Kacouchia

In your experience, how have you found food to tell a story and shape culture?

Food is both created by history and creates history. Cuisines are created by history because they mix with invasions and population movements. It shows the movements of people and the introduction of new ingredients, cooking methods, and recipes. Sometimes these cuisines are impoverished–think of the globalization of cuisine and fast foods–but often they come out richer. In my book Vegan Africa, for example, I highlight the Indo-Chinese influence on the cuisine of East Africa and the Lebanese influence on all of West Africa. These result in unique dishes that are consubstantial with the history of these parts of the world.

On a personal level, the way we eat says a lot about who we are, where we come from, and all of the people who came before us.

Keep reading this article on NutritionFacts.org.