As pandemic restrictions eased and we were subjected to another crisis as temperatures soared, many greeted with joy the reopening of cinemas. What better way to deal with the heat than to get out of the house and relax and be entertained in air-conditioned comfort?
Unfortunately, would-be theatregoers quickly discovered that the screen offerings were decidedly unappealing. While many were excited by the latest in the Fast and Furious franchise, I did not look forward to two hours of testosterone-laden action. And after the tensions of the last year and a half, did one really want to undergo the heart-stopping suspense of A Quiet Place: Part II?
With so many summer offerings formulaic blockbusters or films aimed at children, it was back to the streaming services provided on television, though here again it was decidedly difficult to find something that one really wanted to watch. I am amazed at how many friends have told me that they have trolled through the hundreds of offerings that are available on such a service as Netflix and been able to find little that appeals.
Fortunately, thanks to an interview on Amanpour and Company (to my mind, one of the best offerings available on “regular” television), I embarked on a viewing of High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America, a four-part Netflix series that explores Afro-American cuisine.
Inspired by acclaimed cookbook author Jessica Harris, the television show traces the gastronomic inventiveness of a courageous people who had been enslaved. It opens with an exploration of Benin, the country from which the enslaved were forced on their appalling journey across the Atlantic.
A diverting, informative, and often moving narrative then visits such diverse places as South Carolina, Texas, and Washington, D.C. Food writer Stephen Satterfield serves as a charming host and guide as he discovers much that reveals the resilience, inventiveness, and courage of his ancestors.
It is true (as with a different and very popular “food tour,” Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy) that one has to accept the frustration of watching people sampling, apparently with enormous satisfaction, an intriguing range of dishes, while wondering if one will ever share the experience. However, High on the Hog may well inspire viewers to engage in culinary experiments, though few of us are likely to attempt to roast a whole hog in the backyard; more positively, views of red velvet cake made with beetroot as the colouring agent or creamy oyster stew may well persuade us to get up from the couch and experiment in the kitchen.
While we may have known that George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were slave-owners, we may not have been aware that one of those slaves, a talented chef, is largely responsible for the popularity of mac and cheese, with the macaroni cooked in milk. Similarly, many who grew up with the Hollywood version of Westerns may be unaware that many of the true cowboys were Afro-Americans – indeed the very term “cowboy” is reflective of this.
In other words, High on the Hog is at once an introduction to a particular cuisine and an intriguing history lesson about a heroic people who impressively and amazingly rose above their tragic circumstances. It may not be the entertainment menu item that one is really craving, but in the meantime, it serves as a very satisfactory substitute.
