Welcome to the show, gentlemen. - We outside.
- Thanks for having us. - This is so--
We in the building.
You know, it feels like it's been too long.
- It's crazy. - It's been a minute.
I remember meeting you, and my mind
was blown, not just by the food you cooked,
but by the stories that you told,
the way you encapsulated people's cultures,
their identities, everything, into something
we take for granted every day, which is food.
Let's start with, like, the very beginning,
the inception of it all--
Ghetto Gastro.
So many people have a negative connotation
when it comes to ghetto, be like, ooh, that's ghetto.
You know, and then gastro has this culinary idea behind it.
But you took it and you flipped it.
I'd love to know why you chose that name.
Well, we know opposites attract.
And as a multidisciplinary business,
we want to use food as a vehicle to tell stories,
you know, about culture, politics, empowerment.
You know, mainly, we're using our creative energy to uplift
Black and Brown communities.
TREVOR NOAH: I love that.
Yeah, I love it.
[applause, cheering]
And the way you do it, the way you do it is by leveling up,
I mean, food from all over the world.
I've eaten your food.
And, I mean, not even gassing you up-- you remember this--
I ate the food, and I was like, man, New York has
the best food in the world.
And then I stumbled on a few of your places,
I was like, these guys tricked me, because their food was
the best food in the world.
New York has great food, but you really
take it up to another level.
You've created something that's truly special.
And everyone that talks about your collective talks about it
with a level of excitement, pride, and joy because that's
what you encapsulate.
You know, you take food and you create a story from it.
Why do you think it's so important to do that?
Well, we break bread to build bridges, you know?
And I'll let Pi--
[applause, cheering]
Yeah.
Yeah, what Jon said, we break bread to build bridges.
And for us, it's really important for our people
to understand that the food that we eat
and how important it is what we put into our bodies.
So we're making conscious food, high vibrational food,
you know, like food that's a life force, you know,
straight from the source, plants, you know--
- The Pan-African pantry. - --all of that.
- Yeah. - I love that.
You know, bridging the diaspora--
- I actually love that. - --through flavor.
From the soil to the oil, man.
Yeah, man.
I like that a lot.
You know what I love most about it is--
what I love about this cookbook and I
love about the stories is, first of all,
it's more than just--
Trevor, it's a crookbook, not a cookbook.
- It's a crookbook? - Yeah.
- I like that. - You know what I'm saying?
OK, OK.
$10 million worth of game in there, baby.
I like that. OK.
And you know what?
It deserves a different name because it
contains every-- you expect the recipes, right?
You don't expect what they'll be, but you expect recipes.
But this book contains art.
You have beautiful images by artists
who've shaped hip hop and communities
around America and the world.
It feels like you've infused more
than just the food, but the people that
would engage around the food.
And that, in and of itself, was an interesting choice.
Why involve others in your art?
We liked it.
When you think about food, you think about nourishment.
And it's really about nourishing
the mind, body, and the soul. So--
TREVOR NOAH: Dang!
--we have to combine these-- the arts,
the music, the design aspect, the fashion, the fleek.
And for us, you know, it's community builds immunity.
So we like to work with our peers and people that we love
and that we trust to create, like, pieces of art like this
that will last and stand the test of time.
TREVOR NOAH: You do that with your food as well.
You know, you've never been afraid of
sparking conversation.
You've never been afraid of using
your food to comment on what's happening in society.
For instance, there was a dish that I remember hearing about.
It was AmeriKKKan as Apple Pie, right?
But it was-- - Three Ks--
The three Ks.
--like Ice Cube's AmeriKKKan Most Wanted.
Yeah, it was Ameri-K-K-K, right?
And it was a deconstructed apple pie,
and it had a chalk outline on the plate.
It was a graphic image to think about when
you're having a dessert.
And yet, it was a commentary on what people oftentimes
ignore about America.
Yeah.
Well, food is-- food is a vehicle for us as an artistic
expression for us to express our feelings and our thoughts,
and we do it on a plate.
And sometimes it might make people uncomfortable,
but, like, that's what art is.
We're supposed to spark conversation
and make you think deeper into all of the things that
are happening.
It's just not eating, it's food for the-- food for the mind
as well.
Right, right.
You've also not been afraid to challenge some of the ideas.
You know, people love soul food.
People have these ideas of how Black people eat.
We talked about this many years ago,
but a lot of how Black people eat
has been defined by necessity as opposed to choice.
And what you've done is you've come in and you said,
we're not scrapping these ideas.
We're not getting rid of what Black people
have created in a culture.
But what we want to do is improve on it.
We want to create worlds where the food deserts
don't define our diets.
You know, you've chosen to go with health.
You've chosen to go with a lot of vegetable-based diets.
You've really chosen to speak to something.
I'd love to know why those recipes.
High vibration cuisine, like Pi mentioned earlier.
And we don't call it a food desert,
we call it food apartheid because it's
not a natural occurrence.
You know, this is social engineering,
areas that have been underestimated, underinvested
in, and exploited.
So there's a reason why people don't
have access to fresh food.
But we want to show examples of how we can make it culturally
relevant, push it forward, and make
it nutritious and delicious.
Stealth health as well.
[applause]
Do you find--
do you find you're able to break through?
You know, there's this idea sometimes of what
a Black man should eat.
Half of my friends will, if I give them a plate of salad
or something, they'd be like, salad, man,
if there's no meat, I'm not eating that.
It's just some bullshit.
Do you find that your recipes break through?
Well, the future of food is plant-based.
It's conscious cuisine.
You know, it's taking accountable calories.
And we really want to highlight that, especially
in the neighborhoods that we're from that are suffering from--
that are just in desperation of healthy food.
TREVOR NOAH: Right.
Yeah, we want to change the sort of connotations
and the context around the food in our communities
and what we eat.
So you're talking about what Black men should be eating,
and we want to show our community
what we should be eating.
If you want to perform at a high level,
you've got to take things in that
are going to help you do that.
So like we keep saying, high vibrational food.
No low vibrations over here.
It's always high vibe.
So nutrient-dense plants, like, they're
the primary source of protein.
So you want to talk about protein,
eat some kale, some quinoa, some sweet potatoes,
some chickpeas.
Come and talk to me.
And we still got some twerk and jerk chicken in there
too, though.
That's what I like. It's a balance.
- So it's the balance. - Yeah!
It's like, twerk and jerk.
We got the Black Power Waffle.
TREVOR NOAH: Right, right, right.
You know what I'm saying?
Using African grains-- sorghum, millet, amaranth.
So we really want to have this continental cultural
collision, looking at the ingredients of the Americas,
the ingredients of Africa, the ingredients of Asia,
and creating this combustion of something brand new.
You've also taken it to another level
because you're not just creating on the streets,
you're not just creating in communities,
you're also infiltrating areas that
haven't generally been infiltrated
by faces like yours.
You have a line of cookware that's out there
in some of the biggest brands.
You make-- you've got waffle makers.
You've got-- I'd love to know-- JON GRAY: Waffle mix.
Waffle mix as well.
Syrup, don't slip on the drip.
Actually, I think you guys are--
Come on, Trevor.
--you're giving everyone in the audience waffle
mix, right?
I was watching the between the scenes--
[cheering, applause] - You are, right?
No, for real. - You get a waffle.
You get a waffle.
We were watching the between the scenes with Oprah,
and I'm like, hold up, hold up, hold up, hold up,
we can't let the big O just own this you getting
something when you leave.
So everybody got a Mercedes outside.
No, we just joking.
[laughter]
You got some Wavy Waffle Mix.
So get your fix, you know?
This is what I'm--
every guest of mine needs to bring
something for the people.
Can I just say, it has been a joy knowing you.
It's been a joy seeing the journey.
Congratulations on every moment, every success.
Thank you so much for joining me on the show.
- Thank you. - We'll be back here soon.
- Thank you. - For real.
Thank you so much.
We got a gift for you too, man, a little gift from Silk
City, a little silky.
- You got to be a crown. - Oh!
- Durag. - What?
What? - Let me crown you.
Let me crown you. - You got my durag?
Let me crown you real quick.
You got my durag?
A little durag to crown you, man.
Oh, you got my durag and everything.
You got the durag and everything.
Let the string-- let the string--
Let the string go. Let's go.
I'm gonna wear this tonight. I'm gonna wear this tonight.
Don't let the people know.
You got to get it braided back.
[inaudible]
Black Power Kitchen is available on preorder,
everybody. Make sure you get it.