Lavisha Williams - On food, cooking, and eating

Lavisha Williams grew up with her maternal grandparents as part of the household, and learned to cook watching them and her parents. Most of the foods and meals she grew up with had been passed down from her great-grandparents without cookbooks or precise recipes. Most of what she ate with her family was what she considers soul food: including vegetables like green beans, zucchini, okra, and collard greens, as well as white beans, potatoes, cat fish, turkey, and others. They grew some of their vegetables in their own garden, which was her grandmother’s project that they carried on after her death. Pastor Williams’s family influenced not only the types of foods she eats but also her attitude towards food, cooking, and eating, in terms of portion sizes, manners/etiquette around meals, and the significations of food.