Cookbook author and restaurateur Caroline Randall Williams is on a mission to take care of “Black stories and Black food culture” on the Discovery+ show, Hungry For Answers. The show will premiere on June 8, 2022, at 3:01 AM EST.
On the show, the host will travel the country for,
“Uncovering the fascinating, essential, and often untold Black stories behind some of America’s classic and emblematic food and spirits.”
All about Hungry For Answers Season 1
The new reality documentary series will air on Wednesday with scholar and award-winning writer Caroline Randall Williams. The official synopsis of the show reads:
“From the spicy, crisp flavors of Nashville Hot Chicken to the warm, dulcet taste of Tennessee Whiskey, Williams is out to uncover the origin stories of these quintessential American offerings, as well as surface the truth when it comes to the equity, or in most cases inequity, regarding the recognition and reward, and lack thereof, for the true founding contributors throughout history.
Further adding:
"Hungry for Answers is a food show but it is not just a food show, it is a Black food show with an ambitious endeavor to serve up a healthy dose of history with each delicious bite and sip explored.”
In the premiere episode, titled Who gets to cook Black food?, the host is on a quest to find the answer to this question by exploring Nashville, Tennessee’s most famous and hot selling dish, Hot Chicken.
In the episode, Williams will uncover why this popular dish, created by a Black family who penned the name “Hot Chicken" in 1980, became so popular among food lovers but remains profitable to only White-owned hot chicken franchises.
In the following episode, Do You Know Sugar's Secret?, the host will travel to Texas and Philadelphia to learn about sugar's history. From slavery to convict leasing, to ultimately how sugar affects the body, Williams will uncover every bitter truth about the sweet treat.
In episode 3, titled Is Jack Daniel's Black?, she will meet the first known African-American master distiller who taught Jack Daniels the art of distilling Tennessee Whiskey.
In the fourth episode, Where Are the Black Farmers?, she will meet some farmers to learn about the Black farmers in America and their past and current situation.
The show came into existence after its executive producer, Viola Davis, met Williams “on the set of The Help in 2010 and knew she was special.” Williams pitched the idea of “this revelatory cooking show,” and they fell in love with the concept. Thus they embarked on making a four-episode series, Hungry For Answers.
Speaking about her new endeavor, Williams said:
“Hungry for Answers is so many dreams of mine come true – a call and response opportunity to do some question asking, some truth telling, some good eating, and fine drinking. I can’t wait to share this wild, spicy, complicated, and delicious adventure with an audience!”
About Caroline Randall Williams
Nashville, Tennessee-based Harvard graduate Williams is the co-author of the NAACP Image Award-winning cookbook, Soul Food Love. The multi-genre writer’s debut collection of poetry, Lucy Negro, Redux, has also been turned into a ballet by the Nashville Ballet.
Her official website says,
"Named by Southern Living as “One of the 50 People changing the South,” the Cave Canem fellow has been published and featured in multiple journals, essay collections, and news outlets, including The Iowa Review, The Massachusetts Review, CherryBombe, Garden and Gun, Essence and the New York Times.”
Stream Discovery+ on Wednesday to uncover some exciting stories on Hungry For Answers, produced by B17 Entertainment and JuVee Productions.