About this item
Kelley Fanto Deetz draws upon archaeological evidence, cookbooks, plantation records, and folklore to present a nuanced study of the lives of enslaved plantation cooks from colonial times through emancipation and beyond.
About the Author
Dr. Kelley Fanto Deetz is a Research Associate at the James River Institute for Archaeology and Visiting Assistant Professor at Randolph College. She holds a B.A. in Black Studies from The College of William and Mary, and a M.A. and Ph.D. in African American/Diaspora Studies from U.C. Berkeley, and was a professional cook before becoming an academic. She specializes in early African Diaspora culture and archaeology, slavery, visual and material culture, and public history. She has worked as a historical consultant for television, museums, and for the film The Birth of a Nation. Deetz partnered with National Geographic to produce the documentary film Rise Up: The Legacy of Nat Turner (National Geographic Channel) , and authored the cover story for the National Geographic History Magazine entitled Nat Turner's Bones: Reclaiming an American Rebel. Her new book Bound to the Fire: How Virginia's Enslaved Cooks Helped Invent American Cuisine was named one of the top ten books on food of 2017 by the Smithsonian Magazine.
