Meals, Music, and Muses: Recipes from My African American Kitchen

Iconic chef and world-renowned opera singer Alexander Smalls marries two of his greatest passions—food and music—in Meals, Music, and Muses, which he will discuss with Local Palate editor, Lia Grabowski. More than just a cookbook, Smalls takes readers on a delicious journey through the South to examine the food that has shaped the region. Filled with classic Southern recipes and twists on old favorites, each chapter is also named for a type of music to help readers understand the spirit that animates these recipes. Complete with anecdotes of Smalls’s childhood in the Low Country and examinations of Southern musical tradition, Meals, Music, and Muses is a heritage cookbook in the tradition of Edna Lewis’s A Taste of Country Cooking.

Alexander Smalls is an iconic figure in American cooking. The former chef-owner of Café Beulah and other NYC restaurants, Smalls co-authored Between Harlem and Heaven, the 2019 Beard award winner for Best American Cookbook, and was also recently bestowed the Creative Spirit Award from the Black Alumni of Pratt. Smalls is a world traveler as well as a world-renowned opera singer and the winner of a Grammy and a Tony Award.

Lia Grabowski is a multimedia journalist specializing in food culture and travel writing. She joined the editorial team at the Local Palate, a Southern food culture magazine based in Charleston, South Carolina, as the assistant editor in 2017. She now serves as interim editor of the publication as the small team navigates the ever-changing landscape in a world shaped by COVID-19. A Michigan native, Lia now lives in the Charleston suburb of James Island with her fiancé and their two fur-children.

Meals, Music, and Muses: Recipes from My African American Kitchen by Alexander Smalls available from local, indie bookseller Eagle Eye Book Store

Meals, Music, and Muses with Alexander Smalls Sponsored by The Local Palate