What happens when live storytelling and food collide?
A multi-sensory experience that encourages people to bridge cultural divides.
We will invite a cook to prepare a food dish that is connected to their fondest memory and tell a story about it. At the end of their story, the audience of 30 will taste the dish. Over the course of 12-months, we will host up to five (5) dinners and will design a Detroit story cookbook.
Who is the featured storyteller?
We've invited Adela Nieves Martinez and her friend Luis Soto to tell us a story about their dish.
Adela ‘Noble Snow’ Nieves Martinez is a Nuyorican who has called Detroit home for the past 12 years. She’s a traditional naturopathic community health and healing arts practitioner, mixed media maker, community organizer and mama. She finds the intersection of each space important for her personal growth.
Adela is deeply committed to her Taino roots (indigenous people of the Caribbean) and integrative wellness practices. She’s the founder of Healing by Choice! a circle of women of color healers and health practitioners based in Detroit. She is also a project coordinator for the Center for Pedagody and Action(CEPA) in Puerto Rico. She collaborates with individuals and groups of health practitioners and justice organizers; locally and nationally to create community-modeled practice spaces, mobile clinics, and organizations.
What is the dish?
Traditional Puerto Rican street food: rice, beans, plantains, avocado, a meat, and surullitos (corn fritters). A pumpkin or mushroom option will be available as a substitute for meat.
The pictured dish is a representation of what will be served.
Who is the cook?
Luis Daniel Soto Perez was born in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. He moved to Detroit when he was in elementary school and soon discovered most things were unfamiliar and felt like barriers. It’s not until he took a class in school called Nutrition Education that he felt he was able to express himself and his culture, through food. That class led him to a vocational trade school where he learned different aspects of the kitchen and soon became fascinated with cooking. After he graduated, he immediately started working as a cook, exploring different types of cuisine. And later became a food consultant for various restaurants, certifying them in food safety and giving them the tools needed to own and run a successful restaurant. 20 years later Luis is still cooking and hasn’t lost his love and passion for it.
What are the details?
We will have water and carbonated beverages available. Please bring your beverage of choice ;-)
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