In 2015, Kardea Brown made a leap of faith, quitting her job as a social worker to pursue a career in the food industry. She opened the New Gullah Supper Club, a restaurant and social destination centered around the food she grew up eating at her grandmother’s house on South Carolina’s Wadmalaw Island. After an appearance on the Food Network, Brown caught the attention of executives at the channel and over the course of nearly four hardworking years became a star—culminating with her own show, “Delicious Miss Brown.”
Gullah and Geechee refer to a distinct group of African Americans living in the coastal areas of South Carolina and Georgia who have preserved much of their West African language, culture, and cuisine. In her first cookbook, The Way Home, Brown shares her multi-generational “passed down” recipes and innovative takes on Gullah classics with home cooks. The Way Home is a love letter to her family’s roots, packed with dishes that combine West African herbs, spices, and grains with traditional Southern cooking.
Join Brown, in conversation with Ashley Rose Young, historian of the American Food History Project at the National Museum of American History, as she discusses the recipes in the new book—like She-Crab Soup, Smothered Chicken, and Sweet Potato Cheesecake—along with cherished family anecdotes, memories, and helpful tips.
Copies of The Way Home (Amistad) are available for purchase.
Book Sale Information from Local Bookseller
- Bold Fork Books
- Purchase your copy of The Way Home by Kardea Brown.
- SPECIAL NOTE: Bold Fork Books is offering a 10% discount to Smithsonian Associates ticket-holders. To claim your discount, enter the code SMITHSONIAN10 (no space between letters and numbers) in the “Coupon” line on Bold Folk Books' check-out page.
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