Bundle Tickets
–Not Yet Members: $35 (includes general admission ticket + book at 30% discount!)
–Members: $30 (includes discounted general admission ticket + book at 30% discount!)
–Insiders: $25 (includes free general admission ticket + book at 30% discount!)
General Admission Tickets (book not included)
–Not Yet Members: $10
–Members: $5
–Insiders: Free
Online ticket sales will close at 5pm on the day of the event; however, tickets can still be purchased at the door via credit or debit card only.
Woodruff Auditorium is located inside McElreath Hall. Doors and cash bar will open at 6pm.
An intimate reflection on tropical island cooking’s bold flavors and big stories, with 125 recipes, from celebrated food writer Von Diaz.
The islands spanning the Indian, Atlantic, and Pacific Oceans are remarkable places, sharing dozens of ingredients and cooking techniques, including marinating, pickling and fermentation, braising and stewing, frying, grilling and smoking, and steaming and in-ground roasting. Bold flavors drip from the edges of each dish with tastes that represent stories of resistance, persistence, and wisdom passed down from generation to generation.
This narrative cookbook by writer, documentary producer, and author Von Diaz travels across oceans and nations to uplift the shared ancestral cooking techniques of these islands in more than 125 recipes, including intimate profiles of the historical context of each technique, stories from islanders, and step-by-step guides for recreating them at home.
Recipes include:
- Coco Bread from Jamaica
- Arroz con Jueyes (Stewed Crab Rice) from Puerto Rico
- Masikita (Papaya-Marinated Beef Skewers) from Madagascar
- Bebek Betutu (Roasted Duck in Banana Leaf) from Indonesia
- Lechon Kawali (Crispy Fried Pork Belly) from the Philippines
Bright citrus and vinegars, verdant herbs, slow-cooked and smoky grilled meats, fresh seafood, aromatic rice, and earthy root vegetables: These flavors, found in the meals and recipes across these island nations pair remarkably well together, despite distance and cultural differences. The ingredients and deep-rooted cooking techniques in each of these recipes typify the harmonious, synchronous spirit found in each culture's unique cuisines. Even amid environmental chaos and food insecurity, islanders cook in ways that are soul nourishing and flavorful.
Islas is about preserving the wisdom, values, and resilience of the people who live in some of the most volatile, vulnerable places on this planet. Each recipe, an archive of strategies for persistence, creativity, and ingenuity, provides a path for cooking delicious food. But above all, these stories and recipes acknowledge that cooking delicious food for others is always a selfless act.
About the Author
Von Diaz is a writer and radio producer based in New York City. She is a self-taught cook who explores Puerto Rican food, culture, and identity through memoir and multimedia. Her work has been featured on NPR, American Public Media, StoryCorps, WNYC, PRI’s The World, BuzzFeed, The Splendid Table, The Southern Foodways Alliance’s Gravy Podcast and Quarterly, Colorlines, and Feet in 2 Worlds.
She is currently a Story Director and consultant for multiple agencies. Previously, she was a radio Producer at StoryCorps, and Editor of Feet in 2 Worlds, which brings the work of immigrant and ethnic media journalists from communities across the U.S. to public radio and the web.
Von holds a dual M.A. in Journalism and Latin American and Caribbean Studies from New York University, and a B.A. in Women’s Studies from Agnes Scott College. She was born in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico and grew up in Atlanta, GA.
Promotional language provided by publisher.