While people are familiar with African American soul food and Japanese food separately, there hasn't been extensive exploration in bridging the two. We want to flip the script, resurface some traditional ingredients and methods, and use this inventive cuisine as a way to retell the intersection of the two food cultures. Through the food we eat together, we’ll explore commonalities in food staples such as rice, beans, seafood, fermented and pickled foods; examine parallel histories and their effect on foodways; and expand the conversation to hear more about how you might bring more umami and soul into your life.

This dinner is a fundraising event designed to support Gastrodiplomacy’s work supporting healthy eating and food education in Bay Area public schools. Even if you can’t make it to this event, please consider making a donation to our organization so we can continue to do the great work of nourishing our communities. This is a direct-to-impact model with no complex middle people or major infrastructure to support—just a small family-like team of volunteers committed to the cause.