Does Soul Food Need A Warning Label? | Culinary Historians of San Diego

The Culinary Historians of San Diego invites the two-time James Beard Award winner Adrian Miller onstage at Neil Morgan Auditorium for a free talk, Q&A and food tasting!

Miller will enlighten and entertain us with his extensive knowledge of soul food: what it is, where it really comes from, its fascinating history, origins, misconceptions and delights will all be explained.

Why is this talk called “Does Soul Food Need a Warning Label?”

Some have said that soul food needs a warning label, based on the persistent belief that “you will die if you eat this food on a regular basis.” This fallacy is fueled by simplistic visions of plates overflowing with greasily fried and syrupy-sweet food. But the building blocks of soul food are dark, leafy greens; fish; legumes; and sweet potatoes. As Miller writes, “It’s really a matter of how they’re prepared: Meats can be baked instead of fried, and vegetables can be made without meat.” And, yes, there is vegan soul food.

Come to the presentation, and learn all about the history of American soul food cuisine!

=====About Adrian Miller=====

Adrian Miller received an A.B in International Relations from Stanford University in 1991, and a J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center in 1995.  From 1999 to 2001, Miller served as a special assistant to President Bill Clinton with his Initiative for One America – the first free-standing office in the White House to address issues of racial, religious and ethnic reconciliation. Miller went on to serve as a senior policy analyst for Colorado Governor Bill Ritter Jr. From 2004 to 2010, he served on the board for the Southern Foodways Alliance. In June 2019, Adrian lectured in the Masters of Gastronomy program at the Università di Scienze Gastronomiche (nicknamed the “Slow Food University”) in Pollenzo, Italy. He is currently the executive director of the Colorado Council of Churches and, as such, is the first African American, and the first layperson, to hold that position. 

In 2018, Adrian was awarded the Ruth Fertel “Keeper of the Flame” Award by the Southern Foodways Alliance, in recognition of his work on African American Foodways. His first book Soul Food: The Surprising Story of an American Cuisine, One Plate at a Time, https://adrianemiller.com/product/soul-food-paperback/ won the James Beard Award for Scholarship and Reference in 2014. His second book, The President’s Kitchen Cabinet: The Story of the African Americans Who Have Fed our First Families, From the Washingtons to the Obamas https://adrianemiller.com/product/the-presidents-kitchen-cabinet-paperback/was published on Presidents Day, 2017. Adrian’s third book, Black Smoke: African Americans and the United States of Barbecue https://adrianemiller.com/product/black-smoke-hardcover/, appeared in 2021.

===== Parking at Central Library =====

First two hours parking free with validation. Parking is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. Click here for detailed information on getting to Central Library.