Heritage Food Stories Podcast

Chef Mireille
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Food
  • Updated Weekly

Every dish has a history, and every recipe carries the story of the people who created it. Heritage Food Stories explores the rich histories of regions, cultures, and communities around the world—especially those whose stories have been overlooked, misunderstood, or erased. Each episode journeys through the people, events, and traditions that shaped a place before exploring the foods, ingredients, and recipes that emerged from that history. Because to truly understand what we eat, we first have to understand the people who made it. heritagefoodstories.substack.com

  1. Sep 2

    Spiritual Traditions of the Caribbean and Latin America

    The Heritage Food Stories Podcast explores the intersectionality of history, food and culture. Learn the stories behind the food we eat. Learn the history, Embrace the food, Cook the Recipes.  I'm your host, Chef Mireille - culinary historian, food educator and cultural storyteller with a lifelong passion for exploring global cuisines, and the stories behind the food we eat. I preserve history, connect cultures and inspire curiosity through food. Every dish tells a story and it is my privilege to tell it.  Heritage Food Stories Podcast - Season 2 - Episode 12 - African Spirituality in the Caribbean and Latin America  In this episode we explore African Spirituality in the Caribbean and Latin America including: Haitian Vodou Cuban Santeria Surinamese Winti Obeah Brazilian Candomblé and Umbanda Colombian Lumbalu and more...  We also take a deep dive into Sacred Foods and delicious recipes that we all eat that come from these African traditions. Don't forget to catch the previous episodes on: Why Is Haiti Hated So Much (a deeper dive into Haitian vodou) Broken Chains and Keti Koti (a deeper dive into the Maroons of Suriname) 🌐 Recipes & Blog: globalkitchentravels.com 📬 Substack: Heritage Food Stories — Subscribe here 📱 Instagram: @ChefMireille 🎵 TikTok: @ChefMireille   Recipes: Brazilian Vatapa - https://globalkitchentravels.com/vatapa/ Suriname Tom Tom (with Peanut Soup) - https://globalkitchentravels.com/holiday-recipes-with-blogging-marathon/ Haitian Tom Tom (with Sos Kalalou) - https://globalkitchentravels.com/haitian-okra-sauce-fufu/ Saltfish and Provision - https://globalkitchentravels.com/saltfish-ground-provision/ Haitian Rice and Beans - https://globalkitchentravels.com/instant-pot-haitian-red-beans-and-rice/ Hibiscus Rum Punch - https://globalkitchentravels.com/hibiscus-rum-punch/ Haitian Cherry Cordial - https://globalkitchentravels.com/haitian-cherry-cordial/ Caribbean Sweet Bread - https://globalkitchentravels.com/caribbean-sweet-bread/ Honduran Pan de Yuca - https://globalkitchentravels.com/gluten-free-honduran-cassava-cake/ Suriname Bojo - https://globalkitchentravels.com/bojo-suriname-style-gluten-free-cassava-cake/   Enjoying Heritage Food Stories? Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify — it helps more people find these stories. Share this episode with someone who loves food, history, or both.     Get full access to Heritage Food Stories at heritagefoodstories.substack.com/subscribe

  2. Aug 27

    Latin Caribbean Rebellion and the Recipes Left Behind

    Rebellion doesn't just live in history books — it lives in our recipes. 🌶️ Heritage Food Stories Podcast: Season 2 Episode 11 - Rebellions in the Latin Caribbean and the Recipes that Carry the History Forward The final chapter of the Caribbean rebellion series is here: Latin & Caribbean edition. This episode traces resistance during slavery across Martinique, Guadeloupe and French Guyana, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and Cuba The men like Jose Antonio Aponte and Louis Delgrès and women like Solitude whose stories are often forgotten to the dishes their communities left behind: mofongo, mangú, crab matete, and saltfish fritters. Heritage Food Stories is a food & history podcast uncovering how migration shapes both — one dish, one story at a time. This wraps up the 3-part series — catch the British Caribbean and Dutch Caribbean episodes too if you haven't yet. Chef Mireille Roc is a chef, food historian, and culinary storyteller whose work explores the intersection of food, history, and culture. Her work demonstrates that every dish tells a story—one of migration, resilience, identity, and cultural exchange. Whether teaching a cooking class, writing an article or publishing a recipe, or delivering a lecture, she uses food as a lens to preserve history, connect cultures, and inspire curiosity.   Recipes: Satfish Fritters - GlobalkitchentravelsCaribbean Cod Fish Cakes Habichuela con Dulce - GlobalkitchentravelsHabichuela con Dulce - Caribbean Red Bean Pudding Majarete Pan Medianoche - GlobalkitchentravelsWhole Wheat Cuban Pan Medianoche Creole Chicken - GlobalkitchentravelsCaribbean Creole Chicken   🌐 Recipes & Blog: globalkitchentravels.com 📬 Substack: Heritage Food Stories — Subscribe here 📱 Instagram: @ChefMireille 🎵 TikTok: @ChefMireille   Enjoying Heritage Food Stories? Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify — it helps more people find these stories. Share this episode with someone who loves food, history, or both. Get full access to Heritage Food Stories at heritagefoodstories.substack.com/subscribe

  3. Aug 22

    Stories of Resistance in the Dutch Caribbean

    Heritage Food Stories Podcast - Season 2 - Episode 10 History and Food Podcast Slave Uprisings and Rebellion in the Dutch Caribbean and the foods that carry their History Historical Figures: Boni and the Aluku in Suriname Coffij and the Berbice Revolt Tula's Uprising in Curacao Thico of Aruba Martis di Katalina Janga in Bonaire One-Tété Lohkay in Sint Maarten Reading References: Martin de Kom - We Slaves of Suriname John Gabriel Stedman - Narrative of a Five Years' Expedition against the Revolted Negroes of Surinam   Foods of the Dutch Caribbean: Keshi Yena - GlobalkitchentravelsKeshi Yena - Dutch Caribbean Gluten Free Savory Pie Pan Bati - GlobalkitchentravelsAruban Pan Bati - Cornmeal Pancakes Panlevi - GlobalkitchentravelsPanlevi - Caribbean Sponge Cookies Pastechi - GlobalkitchentravelsAruba Pastechi Recipe - Tuna Hand Pies   🌐 Recipes & Blog: globalkitchentravels.com 📬 Substack: Heritage Food Stories — Subscribe here 📱 Instagram: @ChefMireille 🎵 TikTok: @ChefMireille   Enjoying Heritage Food Stories? Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify — it helps more people find these stories. Share this episode with someone who loves food, history, or both.   Chef Mireille Roc is a chef, food historian, and culinary storyteller whose work explores the intersection of food, history, and culture. Her work demonstrates that every dish tells a story—one of migration, resilience, identity, and cultural exchange. Whether teaching a cooking class, writing an article or publishing a recipe, or delivering a lecture, she uses food as a lens to preserve history, connect cultures, and inspire curiosity. Get full access to Heritage Food Stories at heritagefoodstories.substack.com/subscribe

  4. Jul 10

    Stories of Resistance in the British Caribbean

    Welcome to Heritage Food Stories - Season 2 - Episode 7 - Stories of Resistance in the British Caribbean I’m your host, Chef Mireille - culinary historian, food educator and cultural storyteller with a lifelong passion for exploring global cuisines, and the stories behind the food we eat. I preserve history, connect cultures and inspire curiosity through food. Every dish tells a story and it is my privilege to tell it. Long before Parliament voted to abolish slavery in 1833, enslaved Africans across the British Caribbean had already been fighting for their freedom — in the mountains, on the plantations, and in the kitchen. This episode traces the uprisings history books often leave out: Queen Nanny and the Maroons who forced the British Empire to negotiate a peace treaty in Jamaica, Tacky's 1760 rebellion that shook the colony to its core, Prince Klaas's daring conspiracy in Antigua, Fédon's Rebellion in Grenada, Bussa's uprising in Barbados, the Demerara Rebellion in Guyana, and Samuel Sharpe's Baptist War — the final, largest revolt before abolition. We close by connecting this history of resistance to the food it produced: how ackee, coo coo, callaloo, jerk, and rice and peas all carry the same story of survival, adaptation, and quiet defiance that shaped the Caribbean we know today. Recipe Links: Cou Cou - https://globalkitchentravels.com/bajan-coo-coo/ Saltfish - https://globalkitchentravels.com/saltfish-ground-provision/ Rice and Peas - https://globalkitchentravels.com/rice-cooker-caribbean-rice-peas/ Callaloo - https://www.tiktok.com/@chefmireille/video/7601215679936826655?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7594972479589959181 🌐 Recipes & Blog: globalkitchentravels.com 📬 Substack: Heritage Food Stories — Subscribe here 📱 Instagram: @ChefMireille 🎵 TikTok: @ChefMireille   Enjoying Heritage Food Stories? Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify — it helps more people find these stories. Share this episode with someone who loves food, history, or both. Chef Mireille Roc is a chef, food historian, and culinary storyteller whose work explores the intersection of food, history, and culture. Her work demonstrates that every dish tells a story—one of migration, resilience, identity, and cultural exchange. Whether teaching a cooking class, writing an article or publishing a recipe, or delivering a lecture, she uses food as a lens to preserve history, connect cultures, and inspire curiosity. Get full access to Heritage Food Stories at heritagefoodstories.substack.com/subscribe

  5. Jun 25

    Suriname’s Broken Chains: The Story of Emancipation

    Welcome to Heritage Food Stories Season 2 Episode 8 - Suriname’s Broken Chains: The Story of EmancipationHeritage Food Stories Podcast explores the intersectionality of food and history.In this episode, we take a deep dive into the History of the Maroon's of Suriname: the best example of preserved African heritage and cultural survival in the Americas.Topics covered include:* Brief History of Suriname* Slavery and the establishment of Maroons in the Interior* The Maroon Wars* How Isolation Protected the Maroons* Dictators and the Interior War* The Lasting Legacy of the Maroons* Keti Koti: Broken Chains* Afro Surinamese RecipesRecipes:Peanut Soup - https://globalkitchentravels.com/holiday-recipes-with-blogging-marathon/Bruine Bonen - https://globalkitchentravels.com/bruine-bonen/Heri HeriMoksi Alesi - https://globalkitchentravels.com/one-pot-chicken-and-rice/Chef Mireille is a classically trained chef specializing in global food history, cultural migration, travel and international recipes. Find over 1,000 recipes from around the world at globalkitchentravels.com🌐 Recipes & Blog: https://globalkitchentravels.com/recipe-index/ 📬 Substack: Heritage Food Stories — Subscribe here: https://heritagefoodstories.substack.com/📱 Instagram: @ChefMireille 🎵 TikTok: @ChefMireille Get full access to Heritage Food Stories at heritagefoodstories.substack.com/subscribe

  6. Jun 3

    The African Soul of Carnival: Beyond the Party

    Heritage Food Stories Season 2 Episode 7 | The African Roots of Caribbean Carnival: Beyond the PartyMost people think Caribbean Carnival is about rum and costumes. It's actually a 200-year-old act of resistance rooted in African spiritual tradition — and almost nobody is telling that story. In this episode, Chef Mireille traces the true history of Caribbean Carnival from the enslaved people's yard parties of 1783 Trinidad all the way to Junkanoo in the Bahamas, Kanaval in Haiti, Spice Mas in Grenada, and beyond.What does Jab Jab really mean? Who is the Moko Jumbie? Why did formerly enslaved people burn the cane fields — and what does that have to do with calypso music? You'll learn all of that, plus the street foods you need to eat at every Caribbean Carnival.History starts now. Food starts at [15:10].Chef Mireille is a classically trained chef specializing in global food history, cultural migration, travel and international recipes. Find over 1,000 recipes from around the world at https://globalkitchentravels.com Recipes: Fish Cakes French Caribbean Beignet Haitian Banana Benyen  Breadfruit Puffs Lam Veritab Stuffed Christophene Pastechi Tuna Meat Pastechi Haitian Pate Oil Down   🌐 Recipes & Blog: globalkitchentravels.com 📬 Substack: Heritage Food Stories — Subscribe here 📱 Instagram: @ChefMireille 🎵 TikTok: @ChefMireille @HeritageFoodStories Enjoying Heritage Food Stories? Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify — it helps more people find these stories. Share this episode with someone who loves food, history, or both. Get full access to Heritage Food Stories at heritagefoodstories.substack.com/subscribe

  7. May 25

    Why Caribbean Food Tastes Like Asia

    Heritage Food Stories - Season 2 - Episode 6 - Why the Caribbean Tastes like AsiaThe Caribbean has always been one of the most ethnically diverse regions on earth — and a huge part of that story involves the hundreds of thousands of Indian, Chinese, and Javanese people brought to the islands as indentured laborers after slavery was abolished. In this episode, Chef Mireille traces how three major Asian communities arrived in the Caribbean under colonial deception and brutal conditions — and how their cuisines didn't just survive the journey, they transformed island food forever. This is the story of how migration, resilience, and food are inseparable — and why every bite of Caribbean cooking carries more history than most people realize. Topics covered: ✅The history of Asian indentured labor in the Caribbean and why it's fundamentally different from — and should never be equated with — chattel slavery ✅ How approximately 500,000 people from India arrived in the Caribbean and which islands received the largest populations ✅ Why Indo Caribbean food tastes different from food in India, even when the same spices are used ✅ How Chinese indentured laborers — primarily from Guangdong province — used their merchant backgrounds to exit plantation life and build the Caribbean's merchant class ✅ The largely untold story of 32,000 Javanese people brought to Suriname between 1890 and 1939 who never returned home ✅ How signature Asian condiments like kecap manis, trassi, and cassareep crossed ethnic lines to become staples of Caribbean cooking broadly ✅ A deep dive into Indo Caribbean, Chinese Caribbean, and Javanese Surinamese recipes — from Buss Up Shot and 7 Curry to Lap Cheong, Pepper Steak, Saoto, and Bakabana ✅ Why an African-descended Surinamese person making Nasi Goreng, or an Indo-Trinidadian making Callaloo, is the most natural thing in the world — and what that tells us about how food becomes culture 📖 Recipes: 🔗Curry Chicken - https://globalkitchentravels.com/caribbean-curry-chicken/🔗Pholourie - https://globalkitchentravels.com/phulourie/🔗Colombo Curry - https://globalkitchentravels.com/columbo-curry-powder/🔗Sugar Cakes - https://globalkitchentravels.com/caribbean-coconut-sugar-cakes/🔗Rijstepap (sweet rice) - https://www.tiktok.com/@chefmireille/video/7562251324356693278?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7594972479589959181🔗Char Siu - https://globalkitchentravels.com/char-suichinese-bbq/🔗Ginger Shrimp - https://globalkitchentravels.com/chino-jamaican-ginger-shrimp/🔗Bakabana - https://globalkitchentravels.com/ramadan-around-the-world-surinamese-bakabana-with-peanut-sauce/🔗Bami Goreng - https://globalkitchentravels.com/bami-stir-fry/🔗Bojo - https://globalkitchentravels.com/bojo-suriname-style-gluten-free-cassava-cake/🔗Dawet - https://globalkitchentravels.com/suriname-style-javanese-rose-dawet/ 🌐 Recipes & Blog: globalkitchentravels.com 📬 Substack: Heritage Food Stories — Subscribe here: https://heritagefoodstories.substack.com/ 📱 Instagram: @ChefMireille - https://www.instagram.com/chefmireille 🎵 TikTok: @ChefMireille - https://www.tiktok.com/@chefmireille Enjoying Heritage Food Stories? Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify — it helps more people find these stories. Share this episode with someone who loves food, history, or both. Chef Mireille is a classically trained chef specializing in global food history, cultural migration, travel and international recipes. Find over 1,000 recipes from around the world at globalkitchentravels.com Get full access to Heritage Food Stories at heritagefoodstories.substack.com/subscribe

  8. May 18

    The Lasting Legacy of the Indigenous People of the Caribbean

    In this episode, you will learn about the three primary indigenous tribes in the Caribbean - Kalinago, Garifuna and the Taino - and how they have influenced Caribbean culture - markedly in its cuisine - and how these communities live today. The indigenous people of the Caribbean did not disappear. In this episode of Heritage Food Stories, Chef Mireille explores the history, survival, and cultural legacy of the Taino, Kalinago, and Garifuna peoples — from resistance against colonization to the foods and traditions that still shape Caribbean culture today. Learn about: • The Kalinago Territory in Dominica • The survival of the Taino after Spanish colonization • The Afro-Indigenous origins of the Garifuna people • How indigenous Caribbean cuisine shaped foods like cassava bread, cocoa tea, machuca, and jerk cooking • The true origins of barbecue from the Taino word “barbacoa” This episode explores Indigenous Caribbean history without sugarcoating the realities of colonization, slavery, forced displacement, and cultural survival. 🎧 Subscribe for weekly episodes on Caribbean food history, global cuisine, migration, and cultural storytelling. Recipes: Cocoa Tea - GlobalkitchentravelsTraditional Caribbean Cocoa Tea: Hot Chocolate Recipe Pan de Yuca - GlobalkitchentravelsThe Best Cassava Cake - Gluten Free Yucca Cake Honduran Style You can also watch these relevant recipes on my Tik Tok Channel Kankey Ducana Sancoche Chef Mireille is a classically trained chef specializing in global food history, cultural migration, travel and international recipes. Find over 1,000 recipes from around the world at globalkitchentravels.com 🌐 Recipes & Blog: globalkitchentravels.com 📬 Substack: Heritage Food Stories — Subscribe here 📱 Instagram: @ChefMireille 🎵 TikTok: @ChefMireille Enjoying Heritage Food Stories? Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify — it helps more people find these stories. Share this episode with someone who loves food, history, or both. Get full access to Heritage Food Stories at heritagefoodstories.substack.com/subscribe

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Every dish has a history, and every recipe carries the story of the people who created it. Heritage Food Stories explores the rich histories of regions, cultures, and communities around the world—especially those whose stories have been overlooked, misunderstood, or erased. Each episode journeys through the people, events, and traditions that shaped a place before exploring the foods, ingredients, and recipes that emerged from that history. Because to truly understand what we eat, we first have to understand the people who made it. heritagefoodstories.substack.com

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