Michael W. Twitty – KOSHERSOUL

JCCSF welcomes beloved culinary historian and chef Michael W. Twitty for a conversation about Black Jewish identity, lived and expressed through food. Joined on stage by Maggid Jhos Singer, they discuss Twitty’s new book Koshersoul: The Faith and Food Journey of an African American Jew.

In Koshersoul, Michael W. Twitty considers the marriage of two of the most distinctive culinary cultures in the world today: the foods and traditions of the African Atlantic and the global Jewish diaspora. To Twitty, the creation of African-Jewish cooking is a conversation of migrations and a dialogue of diasporas offering a rich background for inventive recipes and the people who create them.

The question that most intrigues him is not just who makes the food, but how the food makes the people. Jews of Color are not outliers, Twitty contends, but significant and meaningful cultural creators in both Black and Jewish civilizations. Koshersoul also explores how food has shaped the journeys of numerous cooks, including Twitty’s own passage to and within Judaism.

Michael W. Twitty is a noted culinary and cultural historian and the creator of Afroculinaria, the first blog devoted to African American historic foodways and their legacies. He has been honored by FirstWeFeast.com as one of the twenty greatest food bloggers of all time, and named one of the “Fifty People Who Are Changing the South” by Southern Living and one of the “Five Cheftavists to Watch” by TakePart.com. Twitty has appeared throughout the media, including on NPR’s The Splendid Table, and has given more than 250 talks in the United States and abroad. His work has appeared in Ebony, the Guardian, and on NPR.org. He is also a Smith fellow with the Southern Foodways Alliance, a TED fellow and speaker, and the first Revolutionary in Residence at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. Twitty lives in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Maggid Jhos Singer is a gifted preacher, storyteller, pastoral counselor, chef, mixologist, and musician. He skillfully translates Torah and Jewish tradition into dynamic, accessible, relevant, and compelling ideas, provocative stories, and delicious cocktails. In one hand he holds a BA in Music from UCLA and an MA in Jewish Studies from the Graduate Theological Union – and in the other he wields a drum, spoon, and a dictionary of Talmudic Hebrew. He was ordained as a Maggid (a Jewish spiritualist) by Rabbi Gershon Winkler in 2002. He connects traditional rabbinic wisdom to our modern lives – interweaving contemporary dilemmas and problems with Judaism’s ancient insights and solutions. 

Our partner for this event is Omnivore Books.
Please note: Tickets are non-refundable. Keep your ticket purchase confirmation email handy on your cellphone when you come to the event. Can’t find it? Email support@jccsf.org

We’re so glad to welcome you into our building again! Safety is paramount and we appreciate your patience and cooperation as we follow San Francisco’s healthy and safety requirements.

How We’ll Stay Safe Together: All staff have been vaccinated and we welcome fully vaccinated patrons to our programs. If you’re not vaccinated, don’t forget your mask – you’ll need to keep it on start to finish.