New exhibit repurposes Ebony test kitchen as a testament to the influence of Black cuisine

“Midcentury funkadelic.” That’s how Carla Hall, chef and a consultant for the Museum of Food and Drink (MOFAD), described the Ebony Test Kitchen, the repository’s “most high-profile acquisition to date,” The New Yorker reports. Readers familiar with the visionary Black magazine founded by John H. Johnson in 1945 will recognize the wood-paneled appliances and dizzying swirls of orange, brown, and yellow that paper the walls of MOFAD’s latest exhibit. The kitchen is the crown jewel of “African/American: Making the Nation’s Table,” opening Feb. 23 at Harlem’s Africa Center. The kitchen remains a cultural touchstone for those raised on recipes published in the magazine that feted the culture and achievements of African Americans at a time when other publications couldn’t be bothered. “If you found a recipe in Ebony magazine, that meant that it was for you,” Hall told The New Yorker. Exhibit visitors will have the chance to step back in time, entering the installation through a sitting room that leads into the vividly patterned kitchen. Short video interviews will play as ’70s-era era soul music floats through the room. No matter how laidback the vibe, remember: elbows off the kitchen counter. —Safiya Charles