Black, White, and The Grey

BLACK, WHITE, AND THE GREY by Mashama Bailey and John O. Morisano is “The Story of an Unexpected Friendship and a Beloved Restaurant.” Bailey, a Black chef, and Morisano, a White entrepreneur join forces to renovate and open a formerly segregated Greyhound bus station as The Grey, an innovative restaurant in Savannah, Georgia. At the end of each chapter they share a favorite recipe. And with promotional blurbs from chef Marcus Samuelsson and others, this is clearly a text which deals with wine, food and the influence of African American cuisine, but it is much more. This text touches not only on the cooking and business side of running a restaurant, but also on “race, class, and culture” and the many uncomfortable conversations all of that involves. Together Johno and Mashama relate their story in an honest, intimate way – sometimes in alternating paragraphs, as if they were sitting beside the reader and interrupting each other. Unfortunately, my access to BLACK, WHITE, AND THE GREY expired before I could completely finish it, but I look forward to doing so.