Renowned chef Alisa Reynolds travels the world in her new Hulu series Searching For Soul Food.
In each half-hour episode, Reynolds visits different places and cultures, including Peru, Jamaica, Native Americans in Oklahoma and pizza makers in Italy, tracing the history and surprising mixtures of various foods and culinary traditions.
“My definition of soul food is love,” Reynolds told The Post.
“Community and the language of affection while you stand along with your back to the wall.”
This system defines “soul food” as “making something out of nothing, with nourishment and love in every bite.”
She said Reynolds desired to do a show specializing in soul food because “I desired to know what soul food meant. What that meant in America and wanting to see if there have been similarities around the globe in what other countries consider soul food.”
![Chef Zola Nena and chef Alisa Reynolds stand in front of a food bowl outdoors.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/NYPICHPDPICT000012094741.jpg?w=1024)
![Alisa Reynolds bent over her food.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/NYPICHPDPICT000012094738.jpg?w=1024)
![A pile of meat.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/NYPICHPDPICT000012094743.jpg?w=1024)
He begins the series by tracing soul food’s roots to the heritage of African-American cuisine, starting in Mississippi before making a surprising connection to Native Americans in Oklahoma.
“There are things I learned,” Reynolds said, “and things I believe some experts didn’t know, neither the common black American nor the common American, for that matter. I need this show to be for everybody. As an instance quiet puppies, for instance. We thought we [black Americans] invented these. These got here from Native Americans.
“That is the great thing about Searching For Soul Food. I need to be truthful and transparent about what I do know and what I do not know. That is the magic of the show, all of the discoveries.”
![Chef Alisa Reynolds and Mitsuharu chef Micha Tsumura cook together.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/NYPICHPDPICT000012094733.jpg?w=1024)
![Pizza fork and knife.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/NYPICHPDPICT000012094744.jpg?w=1024)
Reynolds said she often got emotional during filming 8 part series.
“We connect people through food. The Oklahoma episode left me stunned. I cried for half the episodes since the stories were so beautiful and the energy was so good,” she said. “AND [when meeting] everyone who was involved in keeping food heritage alive felt a passion for it. It was a beautiful experience.”
Though she’s already been to a number of the featured locations – Jamaica and Italy, for instance – Reynolds said she still encountered many surprises.
“In Jamaica, without giving it away, it was mind-blowing to learn the way the moron was made. Appalachia was certainly one of the places I desired to go, since it’s a place that supposedly doesn’t like people like me. I desired to speak about their food history. Every place I have been to has taught me a lot, and I hope it’ll teach all viewers something they didn’t take into consideration after they ate the dish.
“I met a guinea pig, I met a squirrel. You will have squirrels from Appalachia and a guinea pig in Peru,” she said. “It was a trip to be in one other a part of the world and eat something I’d never normally eat.”
![Chef Marcia Douglas and chef Alisa Reynolds eat food outside.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/NYPICHPDPICT000012094737.jpg?w=1024)
![Plates of food including rice and meat.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/NYPICHPDPICT000012094732.jpg?w=1024)
Reynolds owns a restaurant My 2 cents in Los Angeles, which is Stevie Wonder’s favorite dining spot.
“We’re in Los Angeles, so now we have a lot of celebrity clients, but Stevie Wonder has been supporting us non-stop for the last decade,” she said.
“And it is not like some superstar sends a servant. He sits there for hours, enjoys it and accepts it. And my restaurant is small, it has 24 seats. It’s cool, it’s addicting. We just love him.”