Culinary Conversations

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Toques in Black: A Celebration of Black Chefs

with Battman, Food Photographer

Alan Batt, the food photographer known as Battman, traveled around the country interviewing and photographing black chefs for his latest volume, Toques in Black: 101 Black Chefs in America. The book profiles 101 chefs, including the legendary Leah Chase of New Orleans, who died last year. Among the others are Adrienne Cheatham of SundayBest pop-up dinners in Harlem, with uni spoonbread and buttermilk dashi; Digby Stridiron from Braata on St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands offering shrimp escabeche; and JJ Johnson of FieldTrip in New York with whole fried peanut-crusted snapper. Interviewed by New York Times correspondent Kim Severson, Battman presents an exciting conversation about culinary photography and black chefs working today.

About the Author:

Alan Batt began his journey in photography nearly 25 years back in New York City. He is founder of The Chef’s Connection and has published a plethora of cookbooks with his stellar photography. Small Things Sweet and Small Things Savory are a few of the many. Alan’s other books which showcase the expertise of world-renowned chefs are The Great Bagel & Lox Book, New York Sweets, Summer in New York, Sandwiches of the World, The Colors of Dessert, and Soup. He organizes various events for charitable causes including The Children’s Storefront and Action Against Hunger to raise funds.

About the Interviewer:

Kim Severson is a Southern-based correspondent who covers the nation's food culture. She reports on food news, contributes to NYT Cooking and was part of a team that won a Pulitzer Prize in 2018 for public service for reporting on workplace sexual harassment issues. Before she joined The Times, Kim spent six years writing about food and culture for The San Francisco Chronicle and had a seven-year run as a news and features editor and reporter at The Anchorage Daily News in Alaska. Ms. Severson has won several regional and national awards for news and feature writing, including four James Beard awards, and has written four books. The latest is Cookfight, written with a fellow Times food writer, Julia Moskin, and published in 2012.

Session Sponsored by Local Palate

Inquiries about Toques in Black: 101 Black Chefs in America by Alan Batt (AKA Battman) availability can be addressed to local, indie bookseller Eagle Eye Books.