Without Rival, Anywhere: The Cultural Impact of the African Cook in the Americas
Author(s)
Spivey, Diane M.
Abstract
Forced globalization developed in the Caribbean with the convergence of European mercantilism and African slaves. African slaves, moved onto the islands of the Caribbean through coercion and forced to cultivate the land and cook for their masters were at a loss concerning their traditional food. They removal of the plants historically used for cooking and the introduction of new, tropical foods induced a period of culinary creativity during which Africans, both slaves and escaped maroon-dwellers, began to use a variety of fresh fruits, fish, and seasonings such that European planters soon became accustomed to and demanding in this new cuisine. As plants native to Africa started making their way onto Haiti, a new amalgamation of foods was used in preparation of the chicken and fish that was abundant on the surrounding islands. This trend, of Africans being brought in large concentrations to island in need of large amounts of labor and subsequently adapting their cooking to the available materials, continued throughout the period of sugar cane cultivation (the driving force behind the settlements in the Caribbean). As Caribbean slaves were moved from the islands into America, their status as the cooks of the house continued and they became the common cooks for important families, thus creating the foundation of the American recipes that are still seen as traditional today. In reality, the kitchen was one of the few places where Africans could feel some amount of control over their work, and it is through this freedom that they successfully transplanted African culture, through food, to the Americas.
