The Real Edna Lewis: A Conversation With Her Niece, Nina Williams-Mbengue

Radio Cherry Bombe

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4.6 • 592 Ratings

🗓️ 6 September 2021

⏱️ 46 minutes

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Summary

Edna Lewis might be the most important American chef ever and few people knew her like her niece, Nina Williams-Mbengue. Nina was just 12 years old when she helped her Aunt Edna by typing up the notes for Edna’s landmark cookbook, "The Taste of Country Cooking." The 1976 book inspired the farm-to-table movement of later years, codified the classics of Southern cuisine, and documented the foodways of Freetown, Virginia, the settlement founded by Edna’s grandfather and other individuals who had been freed from chattel slavery. Nina shares what her aunt was really like, her memories of summers spent in Freetown, and what Edna would think of the legacy she left behind. Don’t miss this special episode. Thank you to Chronicle Books for supporting our podcast. Chronicle Books is the publisher of "Flavors of the Sun: The Sahadi’s Guide to Understanding, Buying, and Using Middle Eastern Ingredients" by Christine Sahadi Whelan, out Tuesday, Sept. 7th. Be sure to get a copy from your favorite bookstore. Radio Cherry Bombe is recorded at Newsstand Studios at Rockefeller Center in New York City. Visit https://cherrybombe.com/nina-mbengue-transcript for a transcript of this episode.

Transcript

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0:00.0	She could feel her ancestors behind her, looking over her shoulder, pushing her on, urging her onward to tell their story through her cooking.
0:13.2	Boys and girls are on fire up.
0:17.7	Boys and girls are all fired up.
0:20.6	Oh, world chicken, drinking, baby, and we're all by her. Oh, world, shaking, baby, and we're all bad.
0:24.7	Hey, Baum Squad, you are listening to Radio Cherry Bomb.
0:27.9	I'm your host, Carrie Diamond.
0:29.5	Coming to you from newsstand studios at Rockefeller Center in the heart of New York City.
0:34.7	It's a foggy day today, but blue skies in the studio because I'm talking to one of my
0:39.2	favorite people, Nina Williams M. Bang. Nina is a child welfare advocate and a trustee and board member of the
0:46.6	Edna Lewis Foundation, which is dedicated to honoring and extending the legacy of the great chef.
0:52.6	Nina also happens to be Edna's niece. When Nina was just 12 years old,
0:56.9	she typed up the manuscript for the book many consider her aunt's most important work,
1:01.2	a taste of country cooking. If you haven't read or cooked from that book, I strongly recommend that you
1:06.4	get a copy. We're going to learn more about Nina and her aunt Edna in just a minute. It's not every day
1:12.2	we get to talk about a legend, so stay tuned. Today's show is presented by Chronicle Books and one of
1:18.3	their latest titles, Flavors of the Sun, the Sahadi's Guide to Understanding, Buying and
1:23.3	using Middle Eastern ingredients, written by Christine Sahati-Wieland and out September 7th.
1:29.5	Christine Sahati-Welan is a fourth-generation co-owner of Sahadis, the famous Brooklyn specialty grocery,
1:35.5	and a lifelong Brooklyn resident. She grew up roaming around Sahadis, and now she shares her
1:40.6	stories and recipes and flavors of the sun. You can get a copy at your favorite bookstore
1:45.6	or enter to win a copy from Cherrybaum. Check out our Instagram feed for the giveaway and leave a comment.
1:51.8	We'll pick one winner at random and the giveaway ends Sunday, September 12th at midnight,
	...

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