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Hallelujah! The Welcome Table: A Lifetime of Memories with Recipes
Throughout Maya Angelou’s life, from her childhood in Stamps, Arkansas, to her world travels as a bestselling writer, good food has played a central role. Preparing and enjoying homemade meals provides a sense of purpose and calm, accomplishment and connection. Now in Hallelujah! The Welcome Table, Angelou shares memories pithy and poignant—and the recipes that helped to make them both indelible and irreplaceable.
Angelou tells us about the time she was expelled from school for being afraid to speak—and her mother baked a delicious maple cake to brighten her spirits. She gives us her recipe for short ribs along with a story about a job she had as a cook at a Creole restaurant (never mind that she didn’t know how to cook and had no idea what Creole food might entail). There was the time in London when she attended a wretched dinner party full of wretched people; but all wasn’t lost—she did experience her initial taste of a savory onion tart. She recounts her very first night in her new home in Sonoma, California, when she invited M. F. K. Fisher over for cassoulet, and the evening Deca Mitford roasted a chicken when she was beyond tipsy—and created Chicken Drunkard Style. And then there was the hearty brunch Angelou made for a homesick Southerner, a meal that earned her both a job offer and a prophetic “If you can write half as good as you can cook, you are going to be famous.”
Maya Angelou is renowned in her wide and generous circle of friends as a marvelous chef. Her kitchen is a social center. From fried meat pies, chicken livers, and beef Wellington to caramel cake, bread pudding, and chocolate éclairs, the one hundred-plus recipes included here are all tried and true, and come from Angelou’s heart and her home. Hallelujah! The Welcome Table is a stunning collaboration between the two things Angelou loves writing and cooking.
Angelou tells us about the time she was expelled from school for being afraid to speak—and her mother baked a delicious maple cake to brighten her spirits. She gives us her recipe for short ribs along with a story about a job she had as a cook at a Creole restaurant (never mind that she didn’t know how to cook and had no idea what Creole food might entail). There was the time in London when she attended a wretched dinner party full of wretched people; but all wasn’t lost—she did experience her initial taste of a savory onion tart. She recounts her very first night in her new home in Sonoma, California, when she invited M. F. K. Fisher over for cassoulet, and the evening Deca Mitford roasted a chicken when she was beyond tipsy—and created Chicken Drunkard Style. And then there was the hearty brunch Angelou made for a homesick Southerner, a meal that earned her both a job offer and a prophetic “If you can write half as good as you can cook, you are going to be famous.”
Maya Angelou is renowned in her wide and generous circle of friends as a marvelous chef. Her kitchen is a social center. From fried meat pies, chicken livers, and beef Wellington to caramel cake, bread pudding, and chocolate éclairs, the one hundred-plus recipes included here are all tried and true, and come from Angelou’s heart and her home. Hallelujah! The Welcome Table is a stunning collaboration between the two things Angelou loves writing and cooking.
240 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
81 people are currently reading
1392 people want to read
About the author
Maya Angelou
296 books14.6k followersMaya Angelou was an American memoirist, poet, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and is credited with a list of plays, movies, and television shows spanning over 50 years. She received dozens of awards and more than 50 honorary degrees. Angelou's series of seven autobiographies focus on her childhood and early adult experiences. The first, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969), tells of her life up to the age of 17 and brought her international recognition and acclaim.
She became a poet and writer after a string of odd jobs during her young adulthood. These included fry cook, sex worker, nightclub performer, Porgy and Bess cast member, Southern Christian Leadership Conference coordinator, and correspondent in Egypt and Ghana during the decolonization of Africa. Angelou was also an actress, writer, director, and producer of plays, movies, and public television programs. In 1982, she was named the first Reynolds Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Angelou was active in the Civil Rights Movement and worked with Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Beginning in the 1990s, she made approximately 80 appearances a year on the lecture circuit, something she continued into her eighties. In 1993, Angelou recited her poem "On the Pulse of Morning" (1993) at the first inauguration of Bill Clinton, making her the first poet to make an inaugural recitation since Robert Frost at the inauguration of John F. Kennedy in 1961.
With the publication of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Angelou publicly discussed aspects of her personal life. She was respected as a spokesperson for Black people and women, and her works have been considered a defense of Black culture. Her works are widely used in schools and universities worldwide, although attempts have been made to ban her books from some U.S. libraries. Angelou's most celebrated works have been labeled as autobiographical fiction, but many critics consider them to be autobiographies. She made a deliberate attempt to challenge the common structure of the autobiography by critiquing, changing, and expanding the genre. Her books center on themes that include racism, identity, family, and travel.
She became a poet and writer after a string of odd jobs during her young adulthood. These included fry cook, sex worker, nightclub performer, Porgy and Bess cast member, Southern Christian Leadership Conference coordinator, and correspondent in Egypt and Ghana during the decolonization of Africa. Angelou was also an actress, writer, director, and producer of plays, movies, and public television programs. In 1982, she was named the first Reynolds Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Angelou was active in the Civil Rights Movement and worked with Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Beginning in the 1990s, she made approximately 80 appearances a year on the lecture circuit, something she continued into her eighties. In 1993, Angelou recited her poem "On the Pulse of Morning" (1993) at the first inauguration of Bill Clinton, making her the first poet to make an inaugural recitation since Robert Frost at the inauguration of John F. Kennedy in 1961.
With the publication of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Angelou publicly discussed aspects of her personal life. She was respected as a spokesperson for Black people and women, and her works have been considered a defense of Black culture. Her works are widely used in schools and universities worldwide, although attempts have been made to ban her books from some U.S. libraries. Angelou's most celebrated works have been labeled as autobiographical fiction, but many critics consider them to be autobiographies. She made a deliberate attempt to challenge the common structure of the autobiography by critiquing, changing, and expanding the genre. Her books center on themes that include racism, identity, family, and travel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 178 reviews
January 4, 2021
A Big Surprise
What a shock! This was a cookbook. I should be put in timeout for not reading the book jacket.
I am not a person who reads cookbooks. I love eating and enjoy cooking once in awhile.
The best part of this book is the little stories that prefaced every receipe set. In typical Maya fashion, the stories are charming, witty and often funny
If you are a cook, I recommend.
What a shock! This was a cookbook. I should be put in timeout for not reading the book jacket.
I am not a person who reads cookbooks. I love eating and enjoy cooking once in awhile.
The best part of this book is the little stories that prefaced every receipe set. In typical Maya fashion, the stories are charming, witty and often funny
If you are a cook, I recommend.
May 11, 2015
A great audio book to enjoy while in your kitchen cooking. Themes: the way food connects us across cultures, oceans and economies and brings greater understanding. Appreciation of flavors that take time and patience, just as in relationships. Conversation and listening as art when invited to a table. Bon Appetit!
May 26, 2010
I pick this book up every so often just because I love this woman so much. She is one of my personal heroes and I adore her. I think tomorrow night I'm making her fried meat pies.
June 11, 2020
Sweet stories and yummy sounding recipes.
July 27, 2019
a story of a life told through food is good. a story of maya angelou's life told through food is superb. i have never read a cookbook-non-fiction essay style format like this, but i'm in love with it now.
the essays provide so much historical and racial context for the era, followed by the recipes that are influenced entirely from the framework of a working class Black woman who commands her own self-determination. starting off with maya the child in arkansas in a working class neighborhood during jim crow, and ending with adult maya finishing up a lecture tour at prestigious universities, cooking for famous musicians and oprah wynfrey. you get all of this through her words and through her recipes.
the essays provide so much historical and racial context for the era, followed by the recipes that are influenced entirely from the framework of a working class Black woman who commands her own self-determination. starting off with maya the child in arkansas in a working class neighborhood during jim crow, and ending with adult maya finishing up a lecture tour at prestigious universities, cooking for famous musicians and oprah wynfrey. you get all of this through her words and through her recipes.
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November 2, 2021Note: I no longer put stars on my reviews.
Review:
I didn't realize that, in addition to her many other accomplishments, Maya Angelou was an accomplished chef. This is a cozy little book with a pleasing frame. She tells an entertaining anecdote from her life in which food played a large role. Then she follows with relevant recipes. Many of these are more work than I am willing to put in, but I admire people who can make the dishes. I suppose I like to read about cooking a lot more than I like to cook.
Unlike some of her other memoirs, this one contains nothing terribly heavy. The writing is celebratory and lives up to the title.
Review:
I didn't realize that, in addition to her many other accomplishments, Maya Angelou was an accomplished chef. This is a cozy little book with a pleasing frame. She tells an entertaining anecdote from her life in which food played a large role. Then she follows with relevant recipes. Many of these are more work than I am willing to put in, but I admire people who can make the dishes. I suppose I like to read about cooking a lot more than I like to cook.
Unlike some of her other memoirs, this one contains nothing terribly heavy. The writing is celebratory and lives up to the title.
December 17, 2020
I am currently OBSESSED with audiobooks by Maya Angelou. Her voice is so comforting and I am so on edge right now with the many things going on in my life. This particular audiobook made me hungry because the food sounded really good. It was filled with all of the emotions from sadness to laughter. I can't wait to listen to another one!
November 27, 2018
This is a delightful autobiography/ cookbook. Dr. Angelou knew that time spent with friends at table was sacred. She recounts many rich and even a few zany stories of her experiences dining with friends. At the close of each vignette, she has included the recipes for the dishes she shared.
November 17, 2019
I listened to this in the authors voice. I think this really added something special to the experience! Hated it to end.
March 10, 2020
Brilliant as always. Words of challenge and wisdom. Not to mention Excellent recipes for nourishment of body and spirit.
January 13, 2018
A cookbook filled with stories. Insightful, hilarious, heart warming. So much love for this woman.
October 6, 2025
I love the combination of good stories and fantastic recipes.
January 18, 2010
Maya Angelou is one of my favorite writers and every time that I see her at an author event or reading, I come away thinking that I wish that I had her power of language. This book is no exception. Angelou tells unconnected stories of her life which are only linked by the descriptions of the food that was made for or by her. The stories are uplifting and the food descriptions made me cancel my Jenny Craig program--oh, that's right, I don't have one of those, I just desperately need it. A short, but excellent read. And the cherry on the ice cream is that there are a few recipes included.
February 13, 2010
What a delightful book! I listened to the audiobook read by Dr. Angelou and I'm sure that added to my delight. This is a history of Dr. Angelou's life as it pertains to the eating and preparation of food. She has met so many interesting people and has gone to so many interesting places, I found myself engrossed by the sound her voice and her fantastic stories. She writes beautiful prose which sounds, amazingly enough, like poetry. I don't often write down a quotes from books, but this one is so amazing, I must share it with you. "I rolled my trepidation into a pill and swallowed it." The woman is a genius with words!
October 20, 2014
Book Club Selection
This book was chosen by my book club The African-American Women's Book Club as a selection for the month of October. Since we have an open spot it as decided that we do pot luck following the recipes from this delightful book. Each member brought a dish & we had some of the best food along with a lively discussion of different women's health issues. I think we honored Maya simply by following her advice because each of the recipes has a story attached. It was a great night .I would encourage book clubs to try this for their next gathering. I hoped she smiled down at us
This book was chosen by my book club The African-American Women's Book Club as a selection for the month of October. Since we have an open spot it as decided that we do pot luck following the recipes from this delightful book. Each member brought a dish & we had some of the best food along with a lively discussion of different women's health issues. I think we honored Maya simply by following her advice because each of the recipes has a story attached. It was a great night .I would encourage book clubs to try this for their next gathering. I hoped she smiled down at us
February 7, 2017
This was a short but engaging work by Maya Angelou. She read the audio version, which I listened to, and it gave a lovely extra level of authenticity to the work, hearing her personal stories in her own voice as well as words. Some of the stories were more compelling than others, and I wasn't interested in most of the dishes mentioned (which is OK, since the audio version obviously abridges the recipes). But I thoroughly enjoyed the book and admired what more I learned about Angelou herself and her accomplishments in life. It makes me want to read more of her works, and to think more seriously about the role that food plays in each of our lives.
July 14, 2014
Listened to the audiobook and it was very entertaining!
May 3, 2020
I enjoyed her reading her book.
March 29, 2025
I will always love and miss Maya Angelou. I enjoyed her stories about food and especially those from her own home when she was a young girl. My parents were depression era young people - born 1911 and 1912. My father always lived on or farmed as a tenant farmer ( this is what white people prefer to call share croppers ). My mother's father was a section foreman on the railroad so they lived in the "section" house - a home provided to whomever was in charge of that particular section of the railroad. Seven children in a two bedroom house. My father had a chance to buy a farm during the depression. All he had to do was borrow $1,000 from his mother. She was willing. He was afraid he might not be able to repay the loan. They married in 1936 on Christmas day. I was adopted after WWII in 1948. Normally there were 4 farms on a section in Iowa - one mile by one mile. My father farmed half a section or the equivalent of 2 farms in order to provide a better life for his family. Our income and our rent came from half of the crops we raised. I did not know we were poor. We ate like kings - butchered our own steers, hogs, and 100 frying chickens. We had an assembly line when I was old enough to help. My father cut off the heads, drained the blood and dipped the chicken into almost boiling water. I was the chicken plucker. My father gutted the birds and my mother cut them up for frying. We had no way to store meat on the farm, so there was a "locker plant" in town. A butcher would cut up the steers and hogs and freeze them and the chickens in the locker. When we went to town we would get our week's supply of meat. My aunt would render the hog fat into lard. We kept a can of drippings on the stove. You have not lived until you have eaten potatoes fried in lard that has previously fried bacon, eggs, et al.!! My mother made all our bread and the best cinnamon rolls on the planet. All this fried food was mediated by a huge garden with every vegetable you can imagine plus enough strawberries to feed an army. If we wanted sweet corn for lunch I simply went out and got the ears - no loss of flavor due to time for delivery... Ms. Angelou made me remember that times shared around food are frequently the happiest of times with relatives and friends. At 76 I no longer "cook" elaborate meals, but memories of dinners in Rouen and Paris, sukiyaki in Kyoto, or kow kai yat sai ( chicken stuffed omelet ) at the little street restaurant in Bangkok will always give me joy. I recommend listening to this book as Maya's voice alone is a great pleasure. Kristi & Abby Tabby Childless Cat Lady
September 13, 2024
@ PAGE 77 - I'm not sure I've read anything else by Maya Angelou? I've heard her read some of her poetry in YouTubes. I *feel* like we read "The Bluest Eye" in 8th grade or maybe high school - that title feels familiar, like words I've heard together a lot a long time ago - but I have no memory.
I started out skipping the recipes (b/c of course) but only at the beginning. I surprised myself by being interested in reading them! I think I am b/c: (1) they're short (low investment) (2) they're easy (3) they tie into the v interesting and well-written stories that precede each - so they give the story extra depth and flavor, so to speak (lol). E.g., what exactly *is* gingered cabbage and what makes it special enough to make for her brother? How does a white woman make "wilted lettuce" and what about it was surprisingly delicious when Maya's grandmother cooked it? I suppose - I'm realizing as I write this - that the intro vignettes raise questions that are answered in the recipes, which is what compells me to read them.
Quote (describing Papa Ford, her mother’s cook/housekeeper in San Francisco): "By 1943 . . . his good looks were as delicate as an old man's memory, and disappointment rode his face bareback." (78)
Describing Phil, who gave MA a job in the 1960s after she cooked a southern brunch: "He would put a fork full of food in his mouth and then he would seem to disappear. He slowly chewed his way back to his Alamaba childhood." (137)
"There were bricks in my mattress and rocks in my pillow and no rest at all in my bed." (179)
UPDATE - finished. Glad I read this. I liked the 1st half the best. The 2nd half was mostly stories of "so-and-so said it couldn't be done, but I did it!" Or name dropping. I def read the 2nd half w/ Google by my side so I could look up definitions for fancy meals and also the famous ppl she mentions. Kind of obnoxious. Really I suppose it was 3 parts - Arkansas, San Francisco (w/ her mother and her son), then when she was famous (I think?) and traveling all over the world. She's def a fantastic writer. The way she can bring a scene to life in just a few paragraphs. The recipes in the 2nd half were less interesting. I skimmed some. It was most interesting to learn more abt how food fits into a life. That it was Maya Angelou's life - meh. More interested in the meaning and function of food than in the life of the person telling the story. Also the way food spanned so many cultures, continents, and decades. Good variation and good stories.
I started out skipping the recipes (b/c of course) but only at the beginning. I surprised myself by being interested in reading them! I think I am b/c: (1) they're short (low investment) (2) they're easy (3) they tie into the v interesting and well-written stories that precede each - so they give the story extra depth and flavor, so to speak (lol). E.g., what exactly *is* gingered cabbage and what makes it special enough to make for her brother? How does a white woman make "wilted lettuce" and what about it was surprisingly delicious when Maya's grandmother cooked it? I suppose - I'm realizing as I write this - that the intro vignettes raise questions that are answered in the recipes, which is what compells me to read them.
Quote (describing Papa Ford, her mother’s cook/housekeeper in San Francisco): "By 1943 . . . his good looks were as delicate as an old man's memory, and disappointment rode his face bareback." (78)
Describing Phil, who gave MA a job in the 1960s after she cooked a southern brunch: "He would put a fork full of food in his mouth and then he would seem to disappear. He slowly chewed his way back to his Alamaba childhood." (137)
"There were bricks in my mattress and rocks in my pillow and no rest at all in my bed." (179)
UPDATE - finished. Glad I read this. I liked the 1st half the best. The 2nd half was mostly stories of "so-and-so said it couldn't be done, but I did it!" Or name dropping. I def read the 2nd half w/ Google by my side so I could look up definitions for fancy meals and also the famous ppl she mentions. Kind of obnoxious. Really I suppose it was 3 parts - Arkansas, San Francisco (w/ her mother and her son), then when she was famous (I think?) and traveling all over the world. She's def a fantastic writer. The way she can bring a scene to life in just a few paragraphs. The recipes in the 2nd half were less interesting. I skimmed some. It was most interesting to learn more abt how food fits into a life. That it was Maya Angelou's life - meh. More interested in the meaning and function of food than in the life of the person telling the story. Also the way food spanned so many cultures, continents, and decades. Good variation and good stories.
December 3, 2018
What a GIFT it is to read Maya's memoirs (PLURAL) in her own voice. She lived a million lifetimes, and every one of her audiobook memoirs is like inviting your friend Maya over for an evening that you never want to end. In Hallelujah!, Angelou ups the ante by combining her amazing (first-person) storytelling with stories about food - another connecter. Whoever suggested this idea for a book (Angelou or an editor) was brilliant.
There's a tiny anecdote at the end of the book where Angelou talks about how writing makes her a better chef and vice versa. It's very similar to how Murakami connects writing and running.
There's a tiny anecdote at the end of the book where Angelou talks about how writing makes her a better chef and vice versa. It's very similar to how Murakami connects writing and running.
September 12, 2018
Maya Angelou is an idol of mine so I tend to be biased when I read anything of hers. This is full of wonderful, personal stories about Maya Angelou's relationship with others through the cooking, sharing, and celebration of food. The first story about her Mama's Lemon Meringue pie had me chuckling and smiling so much I had to read it again to savor it.
Her positivity and perspective always leave me refreshed and renewed which I find I need more and more as of late. I miss her tremendously and have her always in my heart when I read her work and life stories.
Her positivity and perspective always leave me refreshed and renewed which I find I need more and more as of late. I miss her tremendously and have her always in my heart when I read her work and life stories.
October 18, 2023
What is it about Maya Angelou’s writing?! This is literally a cookbook and all I read was the first short little story before the section of recipes and I’m tearing up! And it wasn’t even the tiniest bit sad of a story so they weren’t tears of sadness. There’s just something about Maya Angelou’s writing that is so comforting that it immediately touches your soul 💜
And by story two I’m full on sobbing at the tenderness and beauty of the story of the Caramel Cake 😭😭😭
If you enjoy comfort and you haven’t read anything by Maya Angelou yet, you’ve got to resolve that immediately.
And by story two I’m full on sobbing at the tenderness and beauty of the story of the Caramel Cake 😭😭😭
If you enjoy comfort and you haven’t read anything by Maya Angelou yet, you’ve got to resolve that immediately.
September 16, 2019
I really found the array of stories to be as interesting as the array of recipes. I would like to try some of the recipes, some I know I won't try as they seem to be so much work, I would try them if someone else made them but I don't if anyone I know, well except David. He eats anything. His palate is very adventurous Maybe this winter I will try cooking the chicken dish that she cooked for Oprah Winfrey, when she just beginning in her career.
October 6, 2021
Great short stories tied together by food.
Favorite quote comes from the story of her friend seasoning fancy food with Tabasco: I have grown a little since that incident. I’ve come to believe that each diner should be free to flavor her dish as she wants it. For no matter how wonderfully trained the chef, no matter how delicate his or her sensitivity, taste buds are as individual as fingerprints. Mine are mine and yours are yours and vive la difference.
Favorite quote comes from the story of her friend seasoning fancy food with Tabasco: I have grown a little since that incident. I’ve come to believe that each diner should be free to flavor her dish as she wants it. For no matter how wonderfully trained the chef, no matter how delicate his or her sensitivity, taste buds are as individual as fingerprints. Mine are mine and yours are yours and vive la difference.
November 4, 2021
I really loved how Authentic this author is with her stories, and recipes! She sure has a lot of childhood history, and has met some really neat people, and her recipes are delicious! You will want to keep reading from start to finish, and want to read more from her when you are done! Hallelujah! the welcome table (a lifetime of memories with recipes), is a book for everyone of all ages to enjoy! Especially, during harvest time of the year. :)
April 7, 2023
This was written in red by Maya Angelou and honestly I really enjoyed it. I was afraid it was going to go over all the recipes and it would be a really lame audiobook, but on the contrary, it was a very good audiobook. I loved that how much she savored good food, and good company and her she mixed those together and told some very fun enjoyable stories. It made me want to take more time and care in my cooking, as well maybe add a little more creativity!!!
July 5, 2019
Memoir with recipes from Maya Angelou’s childhood. Her momma’s caramel cake recipe has me dreaming. The stories are funny and real and familiar to anyone who grew up eating butchered meat, fresh string beans from the garden and homemade potato salad. Too delicious. This book made me so hungry!
March 17, 2020
Only Maya Angelou could write a cookbook that alternately makes me laugh and then sob. I won’t ever cook things like tripe- but I loved reading her stories and seeing the dishes that starred in these life experiences. It’s a beautiful book so characteristically wonderful, you feel like she’s just telling these recollections and recipes to you.
February 23, 2021
Delightful stories and delicious recipes
How can Maya Angelo write an unite rating book. A very short read filled with humor, engaging stories about the people she met on her journey through life. And end it with one of the most influential women ever in America and the uniqueness of one of the greatest music duos . Truly entertaining.
How can Maya Angelo write an unite rating book. A very short read filled with humor, engaging stories about the people she met on her journey through life. And end it with one of the most influential women ever in America and the uniqueness of one of the greatest music duos . Truly entertaining.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 178 reviews