Bryant Terry

lack Food, the latest book by James Beard award-winning author and chef Bryant Terry, is as much a joyful celebration of Black culture as it is a cookbook. The first publication under Terry’s 4 Color Books—a publishing imprint focusing on amplifying BIPOC voices—it’s already been named one of the best books of the year by Time Out and Publishers Weekly, as well as one of Amazon’s best cookbooks. “Black Food tells a global story of creativity, endurance, and imagination that was sustained in the face of dispersal, displacement, and oppression,” writes Imani Perry, a Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University. It won the 2022 Art of Eating prize for best food book of the year—judges called it “timely and innovative in structure” and “one of the most important of this generation.”

From 2015 to 2022, Terry himself served as the Chef-in-Residence of the Museum of African Diaspora in San Francisco, making him the perfect expert to curate this innovative collection. It features contributions from more than 100 Black cultural luminaries—including recipes, poetry, artwork, and moving essays that describe the Black experience. Notable contributions include Emory Douglas, the creative director of Black Panther Party, and artist Sarina Mantle. “I want readers to engage with their various odes to the Black experience, from an examination of Africa’s far-reaching culinary influence to a reflection on the deep connection between spirituality and land,” Terry tells Bon Appétit, which dubbed the book as “genre-defining.”

As the founder of 4 Color Books, Terry channels his lifelong activism and community work into telling new stories, ideas, and perspectives. In part, this means nurturing and mentoring younger writers and people of color who are navigating the world of publishing for the first time—leading Terry to describe the imprint as “a pipeline for Black food creatives and people of color in publishing,” to The New York Times. Terry will collaborate with the most forward-thinking and groundbreaking BIPOC chefs, writers, artists, activists, and innovators to craft inspirational nonfiction books that give rise to a more healthy, just, and sustainable world. “I’m excited to realize my vision of a library that reflects the contribution of a diverse and inclusive creative community, and points the way to more mindfulness, health, and equity in our individual lives and beyond,” says Terry.