Ghetto Gastro's Black Power Kitchen
Just this year, they have released a line of custom Williams Sonoma kitchen appliances, a collection of cookware and pantry ingredients and were given the rare chance to collaboration with Wolfgang Punk for the Oscars Govenors Ball. Not to mention the highly sought-after Air Jordan, Beats by Dre and Awake NY collabs they created the year before.
Clearly, far be it for this group to let their tenth anniversary come and go without a bang. For ten years of Ghetto Gastro, the collective is publishing a book, titled Black Power Kitchen, that is as much a cookbook as it is a work of art, a manifesto and celebration of Black culture as a whole. Focusing on the idea of food as a path to freedom, this publication is replete with recipes and commentary that initiate conversation on inclusion, race and accessibility.
For the book release, Ghetto Gastro came together with Square and Cash App Studios to produce a one-night-only pop-up restaurant Downtown. We got the chance to chat with the group about their book and ten years of being — over delicious, inspired bites while Smino sang in the background. And what, we have to ask, could be better than that?
In which ways does your partnership with Square work alongside your own messages about entrepreneurship?
Square’s mission is economic empowerment which is also one of our core values so we’re proud to partner with them to bring to life our own restaurant pop up in celebration of our first book “Black Power Kitchen,” which drops October 18th.
We’ve been evasive but who knows, one day opening up a permanent space for our community might be in the cards.
You talk about food being a cultural intersection: what do you think is at their core that connects food to fashion, art, music?
Music, fashion, and music are great vessels to explore creativity and tell compelling stories. One thing about food is that it is essential to human life — we all gotta eat. All these mediums also work well together. Like Deon Primetime says: “You look good, you cook good, you play good — you get paid good”, ya dig?
Often the word “freedom” is used in conjunction with food in dialogue around Ghetto Gastro. How is your new book offering a taste of that same ethos?
Freedom of expression and freedom from oppression — the overall vibes and intentions we’re setting. We’re hoping to leave folks with an understanding of the multidimensionality and ideology of Ghetto Gastro. We also drop a lot of game with recipes for success on deck. We’re giving you food for thought! You just do the dishes.
What is your favorite cookbook, or what was the first one you owned?
My favorite printed matter on the planet is honestly Black Power Kitchen. Pick it up or grip up — you know the vibes.
If you had to describe the work you do — with the pop up, the book, the billion other projects you’ve spawned — in three words, which would you choose?
BLACK, BLACK, BLACK.
