Ozoz Sokoh, aka The Kitchen Butterfly, is a food explorer and a “traveler by plate,” dedicated to exploring sociopolitical, economic, and culinary pathways and practices related to the production and consumption of food. She believes that "food is more than eating."
Her project explores the legacy of West African culinary excellence from the 15th century through the Transatlantic slave trade, its contribution to the Industrial Revolution, and global development—narratives rarely visible, often erased, hardly celebrated, commonly appropriated. Through research, she documents and pays homage to evidence of West African intellectual contributions to the development of commodities such as rice, coffee, indigo, sugar, cotton, and more.
Ozoz's proposal is knit by three strands: what home is and what home does, away from home; a passion for, a desire to preserve West African food history and heritage; and a revelation of deep connections. The goal is to unearth the legacy of West African knowledge systems while decolonizing historical records and shaping contemporary food media to reimagine the future, from coast to coast.
At the digital Forecast Forum, Sokoh will screen a video documentary based on her extensive research.
