The Virgin Islands of the United States does not have one tidy food story. Disputes over the national dish, generational divides over what constitutes a Virgin Islands plate, and influences from Africa, Europe, and other Caribbean nations, as well as American policies that limit food production creates a narrative that isn’t straightforward. It’s why this conversation with Stephanie Chalana Brown, historian and visual documentarian, is so informative and fascinating.

Chalana gives us a peek behind the curtain on how politics, migration, colonial history, and identity have all shaped what ends up on the plate in the US Virgin Islands. This is not a simple food conversation. It’s a revealing look at creolization, generational memory, and the pressures of being a territory of the United States of America. From fungi & boil fish to maafe, r ...