Not By Bread Alone with Juli McShay

 How do you feel that the arts impact our culture?
The arts illustrate all the emotions and experiences of our culture. I feel as though it’s through the arts that we share our joys, pains, hopes, fears, lessons and our love. In our culture, whether the art is on the wall, in your ear, on the dance floor or on your plate… The impact of all of it solidifies a sense of safety; an innate secure space of being felt and that of release, even if just for a little while. It’s euphoric.

Food is more than what we eat, why do you feel that it is regarded as an art?
Like many of our favorite songs, you know, the ones that when you heard that beat drop for the very first time and you knew it was special, that’s the feeling I get when I get when I think of the artistic nature of food. Think of the symphonic impact of the aroma, accompanied by the textures and the colors of let’s say, a soul food plate. I’m talking, fresh hot fried fish, macaroni and cheese, collard greens, a lil yams and of course some fresh cut steak tomatoes and maybe even a few slices of onion. You see the juice from your greens aligning like a sweet melody up against your cornbread coupled with the tango like sexiness of when ya yams and macaroni meet, garnished with perfectly imperfect sliced tomatoes resting at the end of your perfectly golden-brown fried fish… The choreography of the colors, give “ICON” and scream, “this one right here is a classic”, and it is. Food is movement, it is emotion, it’s nurturing and healing, its familiar, its culture and its art! We consume art with all of our senses, so yea, food definitely top tier art. In our culture, when we cook, it’s often with the freshest beat that resonates with everyone… and that’s love.

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In such a competitive market, what inspired you to write a book?
I was inspired by my experiences and that of society in general during the pandemic. The contents were in me and literally had to come out.

Tell us about your book, "Not By Bread Alone"
Not By Bread Alone is a collection of recipes seasoned with explorations in the many ways food links us as family, friends and community as illustrated by the subtitle, “Taking the F’s of Life & Making Them Work For You”. Each chapter is named with these F’s; Food Favorites, Family Ties, Financial Discoveries, Faith Over Fear, Fun & Fancy and lastly, Fasting. As much as it is a collection of recipes, Not By Bread Alone is an honest and sweet devotion that encourages and reminds us, we aren’t in this alone and that God always provides.

What would you like people to take away from reading your book?
I hope people discover new joys and create new memories when they read my book and create from the recipes within. And when I mention recipes, I’m talking about both the anecdotal recipes for your soul and the recipes that will bring you gastronomic delight.

What's next for you and your creative journey?
So, in addition to being an entrepreneur, I am also a college professor. I teach political science courses focused on government and the constitution. Sharing this venture was shocking for many people because they’ve only seen me through that lens. I continue to evolve in creative journey, I plan to merge my passion and my gifts. I have two more books in the pipeline and am preparing for a new podcast venture focused on the politics, social justice and us, “The Culture”, which includes are art, our voices, our foods and our stories.
You see, I’m not new to podcasting and live talk radio. I’ve hosted my own platform on and off over the last 5 years. I took a pivot, lending my skills and abilities to community organizations and platforms in 2019 and throughout 2021, then off and on for myself then and thereafter. Although I understood the value and necessity to do that very important and influential work, I realized that if I could do all that there for them, creating new approaches and attracting new audiences for them, why am I not doing this for myself. So, I’m back in the kitchen and the official launch will be this fall on October 10th in Houston, although the season will open before then since it is an election year here in Houston.
… you can expect books + podcast and definitely some merch from me.

Where can we purchase your book , "Not By Bread Alone" by Juli McShay?
The book is available on AMAZON and you can purchase from me directly if you’re local or I’m in your city. My website is www.julimcshay.com

How can we follow you?
Instagram:
@byjulimcshay / @thesouthernsocialite
@_theprettyprofessor/ @prettypettypolitics