Experience Africa’s vibrant food culture with 120 recipes from the continent’s most exciting culinary voices

Meet the culinarians who are setting the new African table. James Beard Award-winning author Alexander Smalls presents a vibrant library of home cooking recipes and texts contributed by 33 chefs, restaurateurs, caterers, cooks, and writers at the heart of Africa’s food movement.

Organized geographically into five regions, The Contemporary African Kitchen presents 120 warm and delicious dishes, each beautifully photographed and brought to life through historical notes, personal anecdotes, and serving suggestions.

Home cooks will discover a bounty of diverse, delicious dishes ranging from beloved classics to newer creations, all rooted in a shared language of ingredients, spices, and cooking traditions. Learn to make Northern Africa’s famed couscous and grilled meats; Eastern Africa’s aromatic curries; Central Africa’s Peanut Sauce Stew and Cocoyam Dumplings; Southern Africa’s fresh seafood and street food; and Western Africa’s renowned Chicken Yassa.

With text contributions from experts including Pierre Thiam, Selassie Atadika, Anto Cocagne, Coco Reinarhz, and Michael Adé Elégbèdé, the essay and recipe contributors to this ground-breaking survey are at the heart of the food movement of Africa, making it an essential addition to every cook and food lover’s library.

Inviting, instructive, accessible, and exciting, The Contemporary African Kitchen brings the conversation about Africa’s cuisine into homes around the world.

Chefs and countries featured: Zein Abdallah (Uganda); Agatha Achindu (Cameroon); Eric Adjepong (Ghana); Ikenna Akwuebue Bobmanuel (Nigeria); Clara Kapelembe Bwali (Zambia); Akram Cherif (Tunisia); Agness Colley (Togo);  Moustafa Elrefaey (Egypt); Arnaud Gwaga (Burundi); Mohamed Kamal (Egypt); Kudakwashe Makoni (Zimbabwe); Dieuveil Malonga (Republic of Congo); O’miel Moundounga (Gabon); Mwaka Mwiimbu (Zambia); Joseph Odoom (Ghana); Forster Oben Oru (Cameroon); Thabo Phake (South Africa); Mostafa Seif (Egypt); Mogau Seshoene (South Africa); Sifo Sinoyolo (South Africa); Mame Sow (Senegal); Sophia Teshome (Ethiopia); Pierre Thiam (Senegal); Roze Traore (Côte d’Ivoire); Matse Uwatse (Nigeria); Alfonso Videira (Angola); Nana Araba Wilmot (Ghana); Rubia Zablon (Kenya).

"The Asian diaspora has crisscrossed the African diaspora, throughout history and, most powerfully, on the plate. I've traveled the world eating and studying, cooking and exploring. The cookbook you are holding in your hands is about digging deep into our American heritage and setting the table with simple ingredients and bold flavours, presented in an entirely new way. Whether you're serving something as simple as our mac and cheese with rosemary and a side of our okra fries for a Meatless Monday supper or if you're feeding a crowd with our Afro-Asian- American gumbo, we know that these are meals that are steeped with the flavors of Harlem, that one-of-a-kind uptown hospitality and grace." - ALEXANDER SMALLS "Don't feel like you have to read this book cover to cover. Feel free to sample and scat through these recipes. We encourage you to improvise, like Charlie Parker once did. Everything in this book tastes good with everything. Every sauce in this book will be equally delicious whether you throw it on chicken or beef, a bowl of rice or a platter of grilled vegetables. We like leftovers in Harlem, so even if there's just a little bit of, say, pork suya in the pot after dinner, don't be afraid to serve it up the next morning along-sidea batch of freshly scrambled eggs. However you choose to use this book, we hope you'll dive in with an open heart and a hungry belly." - J.J. JOHNSON