Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Food brings people together, but can it help heal today's racial divide? At The Grey in Savannah, Georgia, a rising star black woman chef and a food-obsessed white businessman are equal partners who're breaking barriers--one plate at a time. Black, White, and The Grey is a story about the mission, trials, and triumphs of two individuals with little in common except an obsession with great food and the determination to play a part in bridging the deep cultural divide in America during a time of profound national division, activated racism, and raging classism.
Reflective of their open and unflinching dialogue, media startup defector John O. Morisano and chef/partner Mashama Bailey tell the story, in stereo, of how they turned a dilapidated, Jim Crow-era Greyhound bus station into one of the hottest restaurants in the country, capturing the rawness, vulnerability, and humanity that make their partnership so inspiring.
Anyone who is fascinated by chef and restaurant culture will enjoy the behind-the-scenes details of building and running a destination restaurant--in this case, one with profound historical significance in Georgia's colonial capital--and home cooks will savor the 30 related recipes that pepper the narrative.
Synopsis
At The Grey restaurant in Savannah, Georgia, an acclaimed Black woman chef and a food-obsessed White businessman are equal partners who're bridging their lived experiences--one meal, one conversation, and one business challenge at a time. Black, White, and The Grey is a story about the mission, trials, and triumphs of two individuals with little in common--acclaimed chef Mashama Bailey and media startup defector John O. Morisano--who came together to build what would be a special restaurant.
Bailey and Morisano, co-owners of The Grey, tell their story in alternating fonts, explaining how they went from tentative business partners to best friends as they turned a dilapidated Jim Crow-era Greyhound bus station in Savannah, Georgia, into one of the hottest restaurants in the country, all while digging into their lived experiences with race, class, and culture through honest, unflinching discussions. As they reveal the rawness, vulnerability, and humanity that make their partnership so inspiring, they show how they've tried to bridge the deep cultural divide in America during a time when activated racism and raging classism are at the forefront of our national consciousness.
In celebration of the food and drinks that bring people together, a recipe caps each chapter (21 in total)--from Country Pasta (with pork belly) to Salted Honey Chess Pie--peppering the narrative with food from their story. Everyone fascinated by food culture will savor the behind-the-scenes details of building and running a destination restaurant--in this case, one that is attempting to reshape cultural conversation beyond food.
Synopsis
A story about the trials and triumphs of a Black chef from Queens, New York, and a White media entrepreneur from Staten Island, who built a relationship and a restaurant in the Deep South, hoping to bridge biases and get people talking about race, gender, class, and culture. "Black, White, and The Grey blew me away."--David Chang
In this dual memoir, Mashama Bailey and John O. Morisano take turns telling how they went from tentative business partners to dear friends while turning a dilapidated formerly segregated Greyhound bus station into The Grey, now one of the most celebrated restaurants in the country. Recounting the trying process of building their restaurant business, they examine their most painful and joyous times, revealing how they came to understand their differences, recognize their biases, and continuously challenge themselves and each other to be better.
Through it all, Bailey and Morisano display the uncommon vulnerability, humor, and humanity that anchor their relationship, showing how two citizens commit to playing their own small part in advancing equality against a backdrop of racism.