March 3, 2024: Cultural Food Traditions Project: Puerto Rico

For our next stop, we gathered at Korner Bar in Oakland and visit Puerto Rico, featuring a chef working to bring his cultural foodways into his work as a fine dining chef. Manny Rodriguez has been working alongside Andres at Snail bar as sous chef since the very beginning and is starting to branch out with his own project, Temporal: Comida del Caribe y Latino America.

Our partner nonprofit for the evening's donation was the Puerto Rican Civic Club, a regional organization dedicated to not only supporting and celebrating Puerto Rican culture, but also supporting the islands in time of need. Their work in the aftermath of both Hurricanes Maria and Fiona to raise money and deliver aid to people was essential and has given them new focus to raise awareness of the effects of these larger storms on the Puerto Rican economy and ecosystem.

Our moderator for the conversation was the Civic Club’s president, Maria Acevedo Campbell. As a native Puerto Rican living in Oakland, she was pivotal in the hurricane aid from the Club. She and Manny shared their experiences holding on to their identity through both of their work, and there was a lively discussion of the effects of climate change and stronger more frequent hurricanes on the agricultural landscape of Puerto Rico.

The menu for the evening:

Passed Apps:

sorullos y alcapurrias en pink sauce (cornmeal & yuca fritters)

To Start:

ceviche de pescado en agua chile de acerola and root vegetable chips

Star of the Show:

whole roasted pig in caja-china

Sides:

chimichurri, yuca escabeche, ensalada de la casa, arroz con gandules (rice & pigeon peas)

Desert:

flan de queso w/ guava sauce

Pricing: We're committed to being and building an inclusive community while also making the event sustainable for the chefs. Everyone is welcome at our table and to help that happen we offer sliding scale tickets prices which include dinner, drinks (alcoholic & non) and stimulating discussion. For this event, pricing was as follows:

$90 — A portion of this ticket subsidizes someone who can pay less.

$75 — If you earn a living wage this ticket helps the chefs do the same.

$50 — Join Us! We are grateful that you choose to spend your money on this important work and are excited to have you at the table!

Those who felt inspired to come but for whom $50 doesn’t work were encouraged to email us at slowfoodeastbay@gmail.com

Slow Food East Bay’s Cultural Food Traditions Project series of events celebrates the cultural food traditions of immigrants, refugees and displaced people, learning how food helps people stay connected to homeland and also engage with new communities. Attendees will be inspired by stories from chefs and community organizations, learning how diversity and migration have helped in the development of our food system.... And, frankly, make it delicious!  

As our political discourse gets more polarized, it becomes ever more important to have places where we can have meaningful connection discovering inherent connections to one another. Guests left the evening with both their bellies and minds full, after enjoying a night of delicious food paired with equally delicious conversation.

Photo Credit: Gabriel Antonio