WILLIAMSBURG – On the eve of the 250th anniversary of the Virginia Declaration of Rights, the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown will host a dinner that blends history, conversation and foodways rooted in African American heritage and Southern traditions.
The June 11 event, titled the “Virginia Declaration of Rights Dinner with Michael W. Twitty,” runs from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. and is presented by the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation.
Rather than a lecture, the evening is described as a shared table experience. Guests will be guided through conversation using the “Feast of Reason,” a discussion card game provided by Monticello and inspired by Thomas Jefferson’s dinner gatherings. The prompts are intended to spark reflection on the concept of community referenced in the 1776 document.
The four-course menu is drawn from Twitty’s cookbooks “Koshersoul” and “Recipes from the American South,” with Twitty explaining the significance of each dish. Courses include a bread course of Sally Lunn bread; appetizers of Texas caviar, black-eyed pea hummus and crudités; a main course of Sephardic pink rice, kush, kitchen pepper and sea salt–rubbed chicken, vegetarian collards and Koshersoul collards; and peach-rice kugel for dessert.
Michael W. Twitty is an African American Jewish writer, culinary historian and educator. His book “The Cooking Gene” won the 2018 James Beard Foundation Book Award for Book of the Year. “Koshersoul” was the first book by a Black author to receive a National Jewish Book Award. His most recent book, “Recipes from the American South,” was published by Phaidon Press.
He has appeared on “Bizarre Foods America,” “Taste the Nation,” Netflix’s “High on the Hog,” PBS’s “Many Rivers to Cross,” and the documentary series “Black and Jewish America: An Interwoven History.”
Tickets are $100 per person, and seating is limited. Reservations are recommended for ages 13 and older. Tickets are available at jyfmuseums.org.
