Ghana to the World: Recipes and Stories That Look Forward While Honoring the Past

A transportive, highly personal cookbook of 100 West African-influenced recipes and stories from Top Chef finalist Eric Adjepong.

“Sankofa” is a Ghanaian Twi word that roughly translates to the idea that we must look back in order to move forward. In his moving debut cookbook, chef Eric Adjepong practices sankofa by showcasing the beauty and depth of West African food through the lens of his own culinary journey.

With 100 soul-satisfying recipes and narrative essays, Ghana to the World reflects Eric’s journey to understand his identity and unique culinary perspective as a first-generation Ghanaian American. The recipes in this book look forward and backward in time, balancing the traditional and the modern and exploring the lineage of West African cooking while embracing new elements. Eric includes traditional home-cooked meals from his mother, like a deeply flavorful jollof rice and a smoky, savory kontomire stew thick with leafy greens, alongside creative dishes influenced by his culinary education, like a sweet summer curried corn bisque and sticky tamarind-glazed duck legs.

Full of stunning photography shot in Ghana and remembrances rooted in family, tradition, and love, Ghana to the World shows readers how the unsung story of a continent’s cuisine can shine a powerful light on one person’s exploration of who he is as a chef and a man.