Michael W. Twitty facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Michael W. Twitty
Michael Twitty speaking in 2013
Born	1977 (age 47–48) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Occupation	Author, culinary historian, historical interpreter
Notable work	The Cooking Gene

Michael W. Twitty (born 1977) is an African-American Jewish writer. He is also a culinary historian and an educator. He wrote a famous book called The Cooking Gene. This book won a big award, the James Beard Foundation Book Award, in 2018.

Early Life and Learning

Michael Twitty was born in Washington, D.C., in 1977. His parents were William Lee Twitty and Patricia Anita Townsend. He has family roots from the Mende and Akan groups, as well as Irish ancestors. He found out that some of his Irish ancestors had owned enslaved people. He wrote an article about this discovery.

His great-great-grandfather, Elijah Mitchell, was near the Appomattox Court House. This is where the American Civil War ended.

Michael Twitty first became interested in old-fashioned cooking when he was a kid. He visited Colonial Williamsburg, a place that shows what life was like long ago. He studied African-American studies and anthropology at Howard University. Later, in 2004, he took a trip to Israel.

Career Highlights

In 2010, Michael Twitty started a blog called Afroculinaria. This blog is about the history of African and African-American foodways, which means how food is grown, cooked, and eaten.

He also worked with a company called D. Landreth Seed Company. They put together a special collection of old seeds. These seeds were important to African-American people for growing their own food. The collection included about 30 different plants.

In 2011, he began a project called "Cooking Gene." This project became his book, The Cooking Gene, which came out in 2017. His second book, Koshersoul, was published in 2022.

The Southern Discomfort Tour

Twitty created and leads the Southern Discomfort Tour. This is a trip through the American South. The tour helps people learn about how racism affected Southern food. On this tour, Twitty experiences what his enslaved ancestors went through. He picks cotton, chops wood, works in fields, and cooks in old plantation kitchens.

Media and Awards

In 2013, Michael Twitty became more well-known. He wrote an open letter to a famous chef, Paula Deen. That same year, he spoke at a food event in Copenhagen.

In 2016, he gave a TED talk in Vancouver. It was called "Gastronomy and the social justice reality of food." Also in 2016, he won the first Culinary Pioneer Award from Tastetalks. He also won awards for a letter he wrote to chef Sean Brock. In 2017, Colonial Williamsburg named him their first "Revolutionary in Residence."

In 2023, Michael Twitty was interviewed by Henry Louis Gates Jr. on a TV show called The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross.

Personal Life

Michael Twitty was raised in a Christian family. When he was 25, he converted to Judaism.