Food holds secrets that, when shared with community, can reveal the interconnectedness of humanity.
This is the belief of chef Asantewaa A Eliani Lo Lyon, who founded the Secret Food Stories festival to share her vision of cooking as art, love and human connection.
“Every time I think about food, I think about how we can create an amazing space for people to connect with one another and share with the people they love,” she said.
Asantewa has brought together a host of local chefs, artists and speakers for a one-day festival taking place at the San Antonio Food Bank from 5pm to 10pm on Friday.
The festival's theme, “Waste No More,” focuses on sustainability and reducing food waste and will feature chefs sharing recipe ideas, an art display inspired by the theme and a 7 p.m. panel discussion with Café Vida chef Dora Cervantes, The Food Bank's director of food sustainability Mitch Hagney and Benjamin Miele, director of sustainability studies at the University of the Incarnate Word.
Asantewa said a portion of ticket sales will be donated to food banks.
Food tells a story
The South Sudanese-born chef explained that the food “secrets” behind the festival's namesake lie primarily in the lost or little-known origins of certain ingredients that can shed light on human migration patterns and historical trade routes.
For example, Asantewa says mofongo, a popular plantain dish in Puerto Rico, is nearly identical to some of the common plantain dishes in the Congo, and when she first tasted the New Orleans specialty, she was immediately transported back to South Sudan.
“The first time I had gumbo, it tasted just like home cooking,” she said, comparing it to okra-based Sudanese swara. “It was amazing. I couldn't believe how similar it was.”
Her culinary journey began with her mother's elaborate home cooking, influenced by many traditions: “We always had food from all over the world on our table,” Asantewaa says, with ingredients and recipes from Sudan, Uganda and Kenya, all seasoned with Indian and Mediterranean influences.
Asantewaa said if you want to know history, “know the food. Food tells the story of how people move. … Food tells the story of our past, present and future.”
She says her focus on reducing food waste began in her home country, where electricity for refrigeration can be unreliable and people frequent markets for fresh produce, quickly and efficiently using up what is available. She brought the practice with her to South Sudan, where she worked at her catering company, Eliani Hospitality, before moving to San Antonio in 2016 as part of the Young African Leaders Initiative, founded by President Barack Obama, after working at the United Nations.
A universal language
Asantewaa acknowledged that implementing food sustainability is difficult and focused the festival on showing how people can easily incorporate sustainability practices into their daily lives.
She said shopping at farmers markets or HEB, which carries a lot of locally grown goods, can cut down on food shipping costs, adding that storing food wisely and not buying more than you need also helps.
Chefs taking part in the festival, including Monica Chandler of Mo's Kitchen, Ted Mariano Kelly of Viridian and Loris Gibson of St. Vinny's Bistro in Haven for Hope, will be serving food samples based on zero-waste recipes that demonstrate efficient use of resources.
The chefs will compete in a friendly contest that allows guests to vote for the most innovative recipe, the best minimal to zero waste dish and the tastiest dish.
The art exhibition will have a similar contest where people will be able to vote for the piece that best represents the concept of sustainability. Works by artists including Angela Weddle, Kaldric Dow and Alisha Jones will be on show. Music by Billy Ray Shepherd will set the tone for the evening's festivities, Asantewa said.
Overall, the festival will capture the African concept of Ubuntu, which roughly translates to “I am because we are,” and describes the fundamental interconnectedness of people with their environment and each other.
“When all else fails, food, art and music are universal languages,” Asantewaa said.
Tickets for the inaugural Secret Food Stories Festival, Waste No More, are $75 and can be purchased online. VIP tickets are available for early admission from 5-6pm, with standard admission starting at 6pm.
