Back in 2020, esteemed chef and James Beard-winning writer and cookbook author Alexander Smalls was deep in research about the foundations of African cooking and cuisine in preparation for an expo in Dubai.

He named the food hall Alkebulan, "which was the first written name of Africa," adding, "I was off and running. I created the whole concept, soups to nuts, every menu . . . you name it."

Then, though, Smalls noticed something was awry. "And then I had an ‘aha’ moment: How dare me, with great arrogance, tell Africans what African food is all about? And so I took the role of curator and I brought in African chefs," he said.

That realization led to his book “The Contemporary African Kitchen,” which bridges the gaps between Smalls' Gullah Geechee upbringing and the African culinary traditions that shaped his work. Smalls, who is gregarious and deeply knowledgeable about global foodways, approaches his craft with a reverence for both African and Gullah Geechee cuisine.

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