were looking for someone specifically with a background in African foodways and food testing. My degree at UWS was in history and my senior thesis was on African foodways, specifically in Minnesota. So, I had a lot of that back research.” Banda submitted her name and got an interview. That’s when she learned it was going to be for Marvel and it was going to be the Black Panther Wakanda Cookbook. “For me, as a scholar of Black foodways, it was a really exciting project,” said Banda. “To be honest, I was really shocked and humbled when the publishers told me I would be the one to create the food landscape.” “Marvel’s Black Panther: the Official Wakanda Cookbook” features more than 70 delicious African-themed recipes created by Banda and inspired by over 50 years of Black Panther comics. "To be honest, I was really shocked and humbled when the publishers told me I would be the one to create the food landscape.” As Banda explains, Wakanda is a nation that was closed off from the rest of the world. It was extremely technologically advanced and located in Saharan Africa. The food of Wakanda is mostly items that you would find in that region like poultry, tropical fruit along with fish because Wakanda is on a body of freshwater very similar to Lake Superior. When some of the characters from Wakanda started leaving and exploring, some foods came back with them. “That was the storyline that I created,” she said. “Being able to showcase and highlight all the foods of the African diaspora and give reasons to how some foods would show up there in a country that is technically closed off to the world.”
The task of creating new and exciting recipes while being consistent to Marvel’s Black Panther storyline was one of the more difficult challenges to the project. “It was a little nerve wracking,” said Banda. “While I’m familiar with Black Panther, I’m not as much of a Black Panther nerd as other people, so I wanted to make sure that I would stay true to honoring and respecting Marvel and the story they’ve already created.” Featuring classic cuisine such as roasted chambo, braised oxtail and dumplings and glazed road runner wings, and filled with full-color food photography, “Marvel's Black Panther: the Official Wakanda Cookbook” is a tribute to culinary traditions from the African continent. Including recipes from street food to entrees, spice blends to sauces, side dishes to snacks and desserts to cold drinks, there's something to appeal to every palate and kitchen skill set. “It was really fun to come up with the market foods,” said Banda. “I really love all of the recipes because I got to come up with the storyline for them.”
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