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Stephen Satterfield walks slowly through the streets of Benin, a West African country. The culinary writer and Esquire contributor turned documentary host is deferential, going so far as to walk a step behind Dr. Jessica B. Harris, whose book High on the Hog inspired Netflix’s new compelling docuseries, High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America. For the sake of this first chapter of a four-part series, she is only one of his numerous advisors.
Benin is a fitting site to begin Satterfield’s tour because it is the birthplace of much of American culinary heritage. Harris walks Satterfield through the teeming Saturday market, from an okra vendor to pallets of yams. She puts one up, longer and thicker than your forearm, and calls it a yam rather than a sweet potato. “They don’t grow in North America,” she explains, “but we’ve always been inventive people.” “What should we do?”
“We come up with the next best thing,” Satterfield adds, before adding, “a sweet potato.”
“There you have it,” she says, “and what do we call it?”
High On The Hog Quiz
“A yam,” Satterfield adds, smiling. “So, what are you going to have for Thanksgiving?” “A candied…” she says, waiting for his response. “Sweet potato,” he responds.
These lessons, which are basic, intimate, and direct, are vital because High on the Hog’s goal is to slow down food history, exposing the particularities that have been forgotten and buried through time. As Harris (and her book) remind out, so much of America was formed with African components. Not just the Thanksgiving dishes we’ve gotten accustomed to, but also the cities we live in. To be amazed by American food is to be amazed by African American food. Period. Also, you must try to play this High On The Hog Quiz.
As the docuseries progresses, the plot shifts to the United States, bringing centuries-old practices into the present. While myth-busting and food trivia are fun highlights in each episode, the personal anecdotes that tell history so matter-of-factly, flipping common conceptions on their heads without overtly bringing them up, are the moments that reverberate the most deeply. The origins of macaroni and cheese are traced back to James Hemings, the first American-born, French-trained cook, in episode three. A narrative like Hemings needs no justification or debunking. The only thing that matters is that the story is told.
In just four episodes, High on the Hog gives an overview of how African American culture is intertwined with American cuisine. Satterfield and his many guests along the road begin to unravel African American food history and the arms it has in the sociological, cultural, and historical contexts that are typically disregarded.
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But what makes High on the Hog so groundbreaking is that its teachings are more like overheard snippets than lectures. Between bites, facts are delivered in a fascinating docuseries steeped in Black brilliance. One Gullah chef’s comments on pig’s feet happen to be rich with American slave history, which pairs well with Satterfield’s calm, friendly attitude. A Texan man’s cowboy stew recipe appears to be impossible to create without mentioning the recollections of Black cowboys. It’s a crash course in how intertwined America’s culinary culture is with the Black experience for the uninitiated observer. Even for those who may have heard some of the details, it serves as a forceful and casual reminder.
That is precisely the point. The four hours of High on the Hog are both breezy and information-packed, but if there’s one obvious message, it’s that this series is only a piece of the picture. These stories are being uncovered across Benin, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia, not through any text or academic record, but through the innovative concept of listening to people whose experiences, passed down by mouth and practice, have been overlooked in favor of a truncated past. High on the Hog presents the audience with two questions: why were these histories hidden, and which tale will you tell in the future?
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