"Twitty ably joins past and present, puzzling out culinary mysteries along the way. An exemplary, inviting exploration and an inspiration for cooks and genealogists alike." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "Slavery made the world of our ancestors incredibly remote to us. Thankfully, the work of Michael W. Twitty helps restore our awareness of their struggles and successes bite by bite, giving us a true taste of the past." - Dr. Henry Louis Gates, host of PBS' Many Rivers to Cross and Finding Your Roots "Written in Michael W. Twitty's no-nonsense style and interlaced with moments of levity, The Cooking Gene is gritty, compelling, and enlightening - a mix of personal narrative and the history of race, politics, economics and enslavement that will broaden notions of African-American culinary identity.

" - Toni Tipton-Martin, James Beard Award-winning author of The Jemima Code "In this amazing memoir of food culture, Twitty draws the connection between Hemings and many other historic individuals and contemporary notions of southern cuisine that have ignored a neglected and often-bitter past. This is a joyous journey of discovery by a man with obvious love for history and the culinary arts." - Booklist (starred review) "Fascinating. A valuable addition to culinary and Old South historiography with lip-smacking period recipes." - Library Journal (starred review) "Fascinating." - New York Times Book Review "Twitty has accomplished something remarkable with The Cooking Gene. It's a book to save, reread, and share until everyone you know has a working understanding of the human stories and pain behind some of America's most foundational and historically significant foods." - Christian Science Monitor "Should there ever be a competition to determine the most interesting man in the world, Michael W.

Twitty would have to be considered a serious contender." - Washington Post.