Table of Contents
Neo Soul is dedicated to my grandfather, Herbert Woods (19252001), a man who loved me, taught me, and understood me.
And to my father, James Williams, who died before I knew him.
Acknowledgments
When I was interviewing chefs, I found that many talented African-American chefs didnt do soul food, as if soul food were beneath them. Leroy Ian Charles is one of the best chefs Ive ever met, and he specializes not only in soul food, but also in Caribbean and vegetarian dishes. Leroys influence is present throughout the book. Brenda L. Jenkins, a superb chef, helped me create many of the Neo Soul recipes. I would also like to give a special thanks to Nesley Watson for all his help; and to my nutritionists Alicia Flynn and Naima Bigby, thank you. Writer Neeraja Viswanathan was there when I needed her and delivered excellent work in record-breaking time. Photographer Ronnie Wright is one of the best, and Im honored to include some of his work. The emphasis in Neo Soul is on healthy, flavorful eating, while trying to keep the tradition of soul food alive, and all of them contributed their expertise.
Megan Newman and Lissa Brown at Avery offered enthusiasm and know-how. Thank you to everyone at Avery for believing in Neo Soul.
The professionals at LifeTime Media had my back, held my hand, and contributed enormously to Neo Soul. Thank you to Jacqueline Grace and her staff. Most of all, thank you to Cathy Repetti, editor, adviser, and now friend.
Thank you to everyone who contributed in some way to my crazy life:
Mom, for teaching me never to settle and to keep my eye on the prize; Grandma, for the foundation you gave me and for being so tough yet always there no matter what; to my sister, Tamicka, and niece, Zaireyou are the best; all the Woods and Williams aunts and uncles and cousins, you are a great family.
To Russell Simmons, thank you for giving me my first job; Bill Steffany, youre a great friend and youve taught me a lot. Big shout-out to the original ten people at Def Jam & Rush at 298 Elizabeth St. We had some great experiences; nothing can duplicate them. Walter Dawkins, my homey, youve been down with me a long time; thank you for everything youve done for me (I owe you); thank you, Charles Koppleman, for teaching me how to make money in a crazy business and for giving me such great opportunities at EMI; Daniel Glass, thank you for the experience; Marcus Morton, no matter what, youre my homey, kid; thank you to Mia Young, Beverly, and all the reps and friends. Thank you, Gary Beech, for all your support, and Ken Wilson for the years of friendship.
To all the artists I worked with in the past: LL Cool J, Public Enemy (Chuck and Flav); and Speech from Arrested Development; Slick Rick (Stand Up). And a shout-out to Bill Adler.
Thanks as well go to all my friends who contributed recipes. Drew Nieporent from Nobu, John Byrne from Scarborough Fair, Gabriel of Gabriels, and Heather BryantI appreciate all of your knowledge and support.
Shout-outs to Harlem and Lenox Avenue; all my clients, especially at the Apollo Theater, All My Children (John Baxley), Mark and Kelly Ripa, VH-1, MTV, LA Reid and family, Latrell Sprewell and family; everybody from Noble Avenue in the Bronx; Puff, Flex (I see youyou killin them), and Chris Littie... these are the guys who took the game to the next level; to Wendy WilliamsI read your book and it was amazing; Jam Master Jay and Easy Eyoure both missed by many; Londell McMillan and Firm; Iris and Bob Egan; Raquel Gordian and family; Chrissy and Cheryl; Lindsay Stern; Reebok Sports Club, where it all started; and the Natural Cooking School; Roslyn Burns; Inez Cain and Laura Beatty; Raymond McGuire, Reggie Osia and family; the Bradley family and J.B.; Nelson George, who got me on the basketball court when I was 300 pounds; Philip Wong and all my catering staff; a big thanks to all my vendors; Jim Thaller of ABF Consulting, for helping me to keep my life straight; Karu Daniels and all of the other journalists who have taken a real interest in my story; my hometown of Hemingway, South Carolina, for giving me that Southern foundation; and to all my friends who I forgotpeace, be seein ya; thank you, Reverend Calvin Butts, my pastor, at Abyssinian Baptist Church.
I would like to thank Newsweek magazine journalists Claudia Kalb and Anna Kuchment, Rosemary Black of the Daily News, the cast of The View, Tony Danza, National Public Radio, and the American Heart Association for all their support. Id also like to thank Martha Williams and Deb Howard at the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health for allowing me to do my internship there, and Dr. Ross and the Metropolitan Church in Harlem for letting me do my work there as well. Special thanks go to the Natural Gourmet Cooking School and my classmates for sharing this amazing journey with me. Bonnie Ford deserves a big thank-you for organizing the last-minute details for this book. And I want to thank the thousands of people who supported Neo Soul and showed the importance of still enjoying the soul food you were raised onin a healthy way.
I thank God for all of the great opportunities Ive had and for bringing Dara Stewart, my editor, into my life. She has been kind and patient, but most of all, an advocate extraordinaire for Neo Soul from day one.
And finally, my thanks to Harry Fobbs, the best A&R guy in the business and a true hip-hopper forever.
Foreword
When we opened up Sylvias Soul Food Restaurant in 1962, we knew it was going to be a family business. My grandkids were just babiessome werent even born yetbut they were already growing up in the restaurant business. Everyone had a job, including Lindsey. At first, I used to put him to work cleaning the floors and washing dishes, but he hated those jobs. Lindsey is the kind of person who wants to be out front, greeting the customers and making sure everyone is having a good time.
It wasnt easy for him growing up. He was born a chubby kid, and as he grew older, he just grew heavier and heavier. I remember him not being able to tie his own shoes because he couldnt bend down, or straining to do sit-ups. I used to feel so bad for him, because I struggled with my own weight issues when I was younger, and Id see people in the restaurant who always had to have secondseven though they knew they shouldnt. His mother and I tried everything we knew of back then to help him lose weight, and I know he tried a lot of things himself. But nothing seemed to work, and it broke my heart, because he was such a good, cheerful child.
When he was working in the record business, he put on so much weight that the situation became critical. I was worried about the stress he was under. I think that situation, and finally dealing openly with his weight issue, was what allowed him to lose the weight. Now hes doing just beautifully, and I pray that he never has to go back to the weight he once was.
Lindsey has brought a lot to Sylvias Restaurant. In addition to taking pressure off his mother for the catering, hes come up with a lot of great ideas about the food and how to attract new customers. Weve been in business for forty-two years, and we just never thought too much about serving baked chicken instead of fried chicken, or trying to make our foods healthier. Now, with Lindsey, these are things that were thinking about for the very first time. Lindsey has a lot of suggestions, and being a natural people person, he really gets people to listen.
