This past week on Feb. 12th  I headed to Brooklyn’s Museum of Food and Drink to hear Karima Moyer-Nocchi,  a food writer who we interviewed a few years ago. I went  to hear her talk about her latest book,  The Epic History of Macaroni and Cheese. It turned out I came on the wrong date. Her talk was scheduled Feb. 19th. Arriving early, I sat down and waited for it to start.

The room slowly filled. Wine was poured. Plates circulated. Music settled gently over the crowd and I started to realize that maybe the night wasn’t dedicated to pasta. In fact, it was celebrating okra.

 

More specifically, the evening event was hosted by an entrepreneur named Anna Cobb, someone has launched a lifestyle brand anchored in African-American history, old fashioned American pluck, and history. Her first product is a beverage O’kra. Last week she curated an event around okra in honor of Black History Month.

Cobb is a great speaker and it was a wonderful evening, even without the pasta.  Using the vegetable okra as a starting point, she used it to explore everything from the African diaspora to launching a business from a dream.

All to say, I came for one focus and discovered another.