Read This Honest Culinary Memoir
BY TAMARA PALMER
I had a hard time putting down the new book California Soul: An American Epic of Cooking and Survival by Keith Corbin and Kevin Alexander, which was published August 16 by Penguin Random House. Corbin is the executive chef and co-owner of Alta Adams in Los Angeles and the former director of Roy Choi and Daniel Patterson’s LocoL restaurant and catering company in Watts. Prior to his culinary career, Corbin spent years in various maximum security prisons. His memoir offers an unseen view of incarceration in California and an inspiring look at his post-prison path into entrepreneurship in the hospitality industry.
“This book is my opportunity to ditch the tropes and tell my whole story — the story of what it’s like to grow up Black in America under some of the worst circumstances; to see unspeakable tragedy; to commit acts of violence and crime; to get locked up and then locked up again; to attempt to go straight and find the system unforgiving; to find a passion and go for it; to succeed and fail and be forced to fight for your place at the table.”
Lunch at LocoL in Watts, 2016
As one of the food writers who went to Watts to see LocoL in action when it opened in 2016, it was interesting to read about the lengths taken to keep the potentially volatile location safe to visitors from outside the neighborhood and revisit the promise of what was achieved at the time.
Corbin’s book is a page-turner; it’s been a while since I read anything that quickly. Maybe you’ll feel the same way?
I was a guest for dinner at Alta Adams in 2019 — these photos make me hungry every time I see them.
Shrimp and grits at Alta Adams
Collard greens at Alta Adams
Oxtails at Alta Adams
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