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What is Amish soul food and how did it come to be?

  • Aniya Faulcon
Chris Scott, author of of Homage: Recipes + Stories from an Amish Soul Kitchen, Top Chef alum, and founder of Butterfunk Biscuit Co.

 Chris Scott

Chris Scott, author of of Homage: Recipes + Stories from an Amish Soul Kitchen, Top Chef alum, and founder of Butterfunk Biscuit Co.

Airdate: October 31, 2022

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Many may have heard about soul food but not Amish soul food in particular.

For over one hundred years, Black and Amish people’s lives in Chester County have been intertwined through food. Many black families who settled near Amish country infused Amish ingredients with traditional soul food and created what’s now known as Amish soul food.

Christopher Scott, Coatesville native, author of Homage: Recipes + Stories from an Amish Soul Kitchen, Top Chef alum, and founder of Butterfunk Biscuit Co., said Amish soul food is different from regular soul food because its highlighted with more citrus, acid, sugar, and sweet and sour flavors.

Scott created the phrase “Amish soul food” when he was on season 15 of Top Chef, to help people to get to know him, his cooking style and the story of his heritage.

Scott encourages people to cook and eat meals from different cultures, as it helps bring communities together. 

I always say that one of my most important kitchen tools is my kitchen table,” Scott said. “It’s where I do my prep, but it’s where people come together from different walks of life, where we can just really sit and converse over the food, where the food becomes the backdrop, where the overall vibe is the food is the connective that brings us there, but it’s us that keeps us there. So, all cultures of all food is what brings us to that table.”

 

 

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