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High on the Hog " inspired Black chefs to highlight the African diaspora's culinary connections. - Scholars detail similar dishes between Africa, the Caribbean, and Americas seen today in recipes.
- Culinary arts is one of many exchanges between the diaspora, including ingredients, and language.
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Throughout the pandemic, cultural documentaries and explorations of US history have been in high demand. But, viewers and creatives grow tired of diluted Black narratives that barely scratch the surface of community complexities.
"When our stories get told, when our food gets talked about, it's the 'hardship' story. I don't even mean celebrating resilience," food writer and host Stephen Satterfield told the New York Times,following the release of Netflix's critically acclaimed docuseries "High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America"
The docuseries is based on the New York Times bestseller of the same name by culinary historian and co-host Jessica B. Harris. For Haitian chef Stephan Berrouet-Durand, he finally saw himself in the 4-part series.
"As I watched, I'm seeing the connection between who I am, where I'm from, and within the story of how I became who I am," he told Insider.
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Led by an all-Black creative team, including Roger Ross Williams, Karis Jagger and Fabienne Toback, audience follow Satterfield as he navigated the intersections between the Atlantic Slave trade and the Black culinary traditions brought to America.
But, for many, High on the Hog is more than just a food documentary; it's a celebration of Black liberation and resilience.
Since its release, viewers were moved by this voyage to a piece of archived American history, deeming it an emotional and spiritual journey connecting traditional American cuisine and ingredients to the Motherland.
"This has always been part of our tradition as a diasporic people descending from the continent of Africa," Satterfield told the Times.
Although Haiti's specific influence wasn't mentioned in the limited series, chef Berrouet-Durand says the film, and other cultural programming like it, has been crucial in highlighting Black stories told by the diaspora, without white gaze.
Chefs across the African diaspora connected with the docuseries
Inspired by the film, Berrouet-Durand and Black chefs representing Africa, the Caribbean and Americas are expanding culinary palettes with a taste of the diaspora's shared history - connecting cuisines along the entire Trans-Atlantic slave trade, including their diasporas in Latin America, Caribbean islands and parts of the African continent Hollywood often leaves out.
"Food really tells you a whole lot about people's identity and people's cultural heritage," said Nigerian archaeologist Chioma Ngonadi. "So we need to tell these stories, we need to talk about these people to learn what has happened, and compare it with what is happening now."
Scholars often pinpoint the shared histories in the African, Caribbean and Afro-Caribbean populations on account of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade and well after.
From Afro-Mexicans whose celebration of Juneteenth dates back to their African-American descendants, to American slave rebellions funded by Haiti, the diaspora's inter-connectivity is nothing new.
But recent studies have sought to shine a light on that history often excluded from classrooms. High on the Hog takes audiences on this journey through that its continued impact on the culinary arts.
Haitian-American food historian and archaeologist Peggy Brunache told Insider the extensive similarities between the Caribbean and African food-ways are apparent as well.
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Highlighting Louisiana as an example, Brunache notes its distinct, Creole history is often cited as the northern extension of the Caribbean due to a significant influx of Black people leaving Saint Domingue (modern day Haiti) in 1791 and long after.
"Having large numbers of Black people that are always amongst themselves, socially, culturally, racially segregated, allowed them to keep creating or recreating an Africanized food
Ingredients like peanuts, tomato, corn, and cassava travelled from west to east on trade routes of colonizers by way of the enslaved. West African communities then brought their ingredients to the Caribbean and the Americas.
In the film, when Satterfield recalls his childhood eating fried fish and tomato based spaghetti while eating Benin's comparable dish Ganvié (fried fish and tomato), Trinidadian Chef Brigette Joseph immediately thought of stewed fish - a similar dish through the Caribbean where the fried fish is tossed into a tomato-infused creole sauce.Chef Berrouet-Durand told Insider that's because "food tends to travel."
"Food never stays in one place. Depending on where you are, food tends to evolve as well," he said.
But stewed fish is far from the only connection. High on the Hog explores the crafts of technique, language, and ingredients also united African American, Afro-Caribbean and African communities.
Even the lexicon in which traditional dishes are named is similar throughout the African diaspora.
Accra, for example, is the name of the largest town in Ghana, while across the Atlantic, it's a beach in Barbados where enslaved Africans first made landfall from the Motherland's shores. In food, Accra is a Haitian fritter made of fried black-eyed peas and salted cod - called "stamp and go" in Jamaica.
Most notable, perhaps, is okra. It's called "gumbo" in Haiti - the same word for the staple Louisiana dish for which descendants use okra for the base.
Dr. Brunache explains that these parallels come from an exchange between the diaspora, which became ingrained in the culture. "It is a source of pride and joy. It didn't just feed the body; it fed the soul," Dr. Brunache said. "That's why it's called soul food."
Culinary scholars told Insider it's essential to pass on the traditions
While celebrating similarities, High on the Hog notes how Black cultures are not monolithic. Where Black communities come from are just as diverse. Trinidadian Chef Leigh Ann Martin told Insider it would be "an injustice to the entire diaspora" to try representing all of it in any given docuseries.
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She said that's where Black chefs throughout the diaspora can step in, inspiring a new generation to continue the discourse.
For many, High on the Hog validates the cultural resistance that kept the diaspora bonded through time. For chefs like Martin, it honors the Black "voices that have been here, African roots have been here," and serves as a reminder to the next generations to cherish the tradition while passing the torch.
"We have to carry on and contribute to the conversation," she said. "We all have work to do."