Where to Start with Bryant Terry
Bryant Terry is a James Beard Award-winning chef, educator, and food justice activist based in Oakland, California. He grew up in Memphis, Tennessee, where his grandparents’ Southern cooking and his family’s connection to farming shaped his relationship with food from an early age. After studying at New York University, he earned a certificate from the Natural Gourmet Institute for Health and Culinary Arts. Terry’s work sits at the intersection of food, farming, and social justice, and he has spent his career arguing that access to fresh, healthy food is a fundamental right. He has served as the chef-in-residence at the Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco and is the author of several acclaimed cookbooks, including Vegan Soul Kitchen (2009), Afro-Vegan (2014), and Vegetable Kingdom (2020). His books combine plant-based recipes with cultural history, music recommendations, and a vision of cooking as community-building.
Start here
Afro-Vegan
Bryant Terry · 224 pages · 2014 · Moderate
Themes: vegan cooking, African diaspora cuisine, Caribbean flavors, Southern cooking
Bryant Terry’s exploration of plant-based cooking through the food traditions of Africa, the Caribbean, and the American South. Over 100 recipes remix the favorite ingredients and classic dishes of the African diaspora with fresh produce, bold seasoning, and a deep respect for the culinary heritage behind every plate.
Why Start Here
Afro-Vegan is the best entry point to Terry’s work because it represents his vision at its most focused and accessible. His earlier Vegan Soul Kitchen covered similar territory but with a narrower lens. Here, Terry draws connections across the entire African diaspora, from Kenyan irio to Moroccan tagines to Southern collard greens, showing how plant-based eating has always been central to these traditions.
Each recipe includes a suggested soundtrack and reading recommendation, reflecting Terry’s belief that food is part of a larger cultural conversation. The combinations feel both rooted and inventive: smashed potatoes with chile-garlic oil, coconut-cashew soup inspired by West African groundnut stew, and blackened tofu with succotash.
What to Expect
A beautifully designed 224-page cookbook with full-color photography. The recipes require moderate effort and reward attention to spicing and technique. Winner of an NAACP Image Award and recognized by Bon Appetit as one of the best vegetarian cookbooks of all time.
Alternatives
Bryant Terry · 256 pages · 2020 · Moderate
Bryant Terry’s most refined cookbook, organized by ingredient from leaves and stems through roots and tubers to fruits and seeds. Vegetable Kingdom builds on the cultural foundation of Afro-Vegan but pushes the cooking further, with more layered flavors and more ambitious technique.
Why Start Here
Where Afro-Vegan introduced Terry’s approach to plant-based cooking through the African diaspora, Vegetable Kingdom deepens it. The ingredient-based organization helps you think about vegetables the way a chef does: understanding what each one can become when treated with the right technique and seasoning. Terry pairs each recipe with a suggested soundtrack, continuing his signature fusion of food and culture.
The recipes here are more polished and more personal. Terry draws on his years as chef-in-residence at the Museum of the African Diaspora, and the dishes reflect that maturity. Charred broccoli with a hot green sauce, citrus and garlic-herb-braised fennel, and sweet potato pie with a pecan crust are all standout examples.
What to Expect
A beautifully photographed 256-page cookbook with recipes that reward careful cooking. The difficulty level is moderate to advanced, with some dishes requiring more preparation than a quick weeknight meal. Best for cooks who already enjoy spending time in the kitchen and want to elevate their plant-based repertoire.