Tanya Holland's California Soul: Recipes from a Culinary Journey West

by Tanya Holland, Alice Walker (Foreword), Maria C. Hunt (Primary Contributor)

Through more than 80 seasonally inspired recipes, Tanya Holland’s California Soul showcases modern soul food from the acclaimed chef of Brown Sugar Kitchen and host of Tanya’s Kitchen Table. Tanya’s inventive cuisine—rooted in a Black Southern cultural repertoire with a twenty-first-century sensibility using local, sustainable, chef-driven, seasonal ingredients—is showcased in recipes for every season, such as Collard Green Tabbouleh, Zucchini–Scallion Waffles with Toasted Pecan Romesco, Grilled Shrimp and Corn with Avocado White BBQ Sauce, Fried Chicken Paillards with Arugula and Pea Shoots Salad, Rhubarb Upside-Down Cake, and Honey Lavender Chess Pie. 

The recipes—influenced by the historical migration of African American families, including Tanya’s own—reveal the key ingredients, techniques, and traditions that African Americans brought with them as they left the South for California, creating a beloved version of soul food. Beyond recipes, Tanya spotlights fifteen contemporary Black Californian foodmakers—farmers, coffee roasters, and other talented artisans—whose work help defines California soul food, with stunning portraiture and stories. Filtered through the rich history of African American migration that brought her own family from the Deep South to the West Coast, Tanya’s recipes are as comforting and delicious as they are steeped in history.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food and Drink

256 pages, Hardcover

Published October 25, 2022

Reviews

[LAPL Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

In her cookbook/memoir/history Tanya Holland organizes recipes in four chapters arranged by the seasons (Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter), preceded with a lovely foreword by Alice Walker. In the introduction the successful American chef, restaurateur, podcaster, writer and cookbook author states, “I claim it all,” Black, African American, from the African diaspora, descended from enslaved people “brought to this country by Europeans. Americans have been and still are all on the journey together. And as an African American woman, the contributions that my ancestors made to what Americans eat and how we eat is significant. No matter where we migrated from or ended up, our food comes with us and tells our story. I am contributing and this is my story. I have a California Soul.” Over several pages, she provides a history of her family and their connections to food, to people, to historical events. Even though she has traveled all over the world, her soul "will always be anchored right here at home in California.

Reviewed by Sheryn Morris, Librarian, Literature & Fiction

This is a large format book with full-page color photographs of completed dishes, of people, and of places. The artistic layout of the book is beautiful, with alternating pages of colored paper, in unique muted shades of all the colors of the rainbow, as the backdrop for the recipes, narratives and photographs. The recipes are not complicated with Tanya Holland’s fresh take on traditional dishes. Even though she has become a proponent/preacher for more plant-based food, sometimes various types of meat, particularly bacon “makes nearly everything taste better. Smoked and cured meats, especially pork, have been key soul food seasonings for centuries.” Interspersed among the recipes are "detours" to African American cooks, restaurants, farms, entrepreneurs and history. The book has a detailed index and a section with web addresses for “Featured California Black-Owned California Businesses.” Tanya Holland has created a joyful book with recipes for luscious food that also honors the contributions of African Americans, specifically in California, who have contributed to making food that is unique to the Golden State--rich with soul.

[Charles Eldridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful. Just wonderful. A beautifully presented cookbook that hits all my desired check marks including prep and cooking timings. The through line for the cuisine is explains and exalted. The pictures are fantastic. Every recipe seemed very accessible and doable for the home chef. But the real gem was the little biographies and histories of Black-owned businesses that inform the culinary landscape of California. What an education.

[Kerry Croucier · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy a cookbook that is full of delicious recipes. I love them even more when they tell a story or teach me about new things, making them read like a novel. TANYA HOLLAND’S CALIFORNIA SOUL: RECIPES FROM A CULINARY JOURNEY WEST does both and, having grown up in the South, also moving West, I have even more appreciation for CALIFORNIA SOUL. Holland, who made her own journey West, highlights traditional Southern Cuisine with a California twist, adding ingredients that are in-season and sustainable. CALIFORNIA SOUL is set up this way, as well, with the recipes separated into sections by season and the ingredients that are available. Also mixed in are Historical Detours, bringing into focus different areas and why they are historically important in the African American westward movement. Living outside Los Angeles, I found it fascinating to read about the origins of iconic LA restaurants like Roscoe’s House of Chicken and Waffles and Fatburger. She also includes Maker profiles, spotlighting African Americans in California that are in the middle of spreading California Soul.
This cookbook is beautifully photographed, but I was a little disappointed that many of the recipes didn’t include those photographs. That would be my biggest criticism. Some of my favorite recipes include Buttermilk Muffins with Cinnamon Cardamom Streusel (I always try to keep buttermilk in the fridge for biscuits and other baking!), Sweet Potato Buttermilk Pull-Apart Rolls, Smothered Warm Grilled Tri-Tip with Spinach, Skillet Frittata with Bacon and Spring Onions, and Halibut with Green Beans and Sweet Potatoes that includes a Garlic Compound butter recipe. Tri-Tip is a uniquely California beef cut that I never looked at because it wasn’t one that I grew up with in the South, so it’s nice to find a recipe that I can use.
This is a valuable and fascinating read with the happy addition of delicious recipes. I appreciated having the ability to pick it up and leisurely read through the different sections.
Thanks to Ten Speed Press for the gift copy. All opinions are my own and freely given.

[Rakhi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tanya Holland’s California Soul is a beautiful rich tapestry of recipes, writing, photographs, and historical detours. The colors used are somber but warming. The book is divided by the seasons but as a California resident, this is not impactful for me. I would make any of the recipes, any day of the year. I could happily eat the Stuffed Sweet Potatoes with molasses and apple cider gastrique every day. The Coconut Creamed Dinosaur Kale made me a kale lover – I was sitting on the fence before. The recipes are rich and complex, but they make sense and are so well constructed, any level of cook can make the Whole Duck Jambalaya with Confit Duck Legs if they have a little extra time. The rice alone is worth making the recipe for. Make the Sweet Tea and Molasses-Brined Spatchcock Chicken! You can make this in your oven and your family will sing your praises loudly. Serve it with one of the amazing salads in this book, maybe the Winter Chicory Salad with Blood Oranges, Pomegranates, and Creole Mustard Vinaigrette. I could write pages and pages about the desserts, but I think will stick to just one: Gravenstein Apple Hand Pies – oh my, what a crust, what a filling, and the glaze is the perfect last touch! I've received a free copy from Ten Speed Press in exchange for a free and unbiased review.

[Reina Williams]

This is a cookbook lovers of seasonal food, history, and/or California will want to read. I appreciate the beautiful photos, historical asides, and spotlights on Black-owned California food businesses. I haven't tried any of the recipes yet, and as I'm not a wide-ranging eater, I won't be noting many to try, but there are several I'd like to, such as the fried artichoke po'boy and the hibiscus lemonade spritzer.

[Ursula · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading this cookbook was like reading a poem. I enjoyed reading the book, but not so much the recipes. I will only commit to experimenting with one of the recipes. This book is worth the read for the history alone.

[T · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. Connected with very few recipes in this cook. Plus, there were very few pictures of the recipes themselves.

[Carolyn Wade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not just a cookbook but a walk through California's colorful African American history and relationship with food.

[Lea · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a gorgeous California cookbook. The photos alone are worth flipping through this gem, add in the essays, Black culinary stories and mouth water recipes and this is a true treasure.

[Laura Reinhardt · Rating 4 out of 5]

The stunning photos and mouth-watering sounding recipes made me want to dive in. I loved that she had quite an assortment of vegetarian and vegan recipes included.