We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Rekaya Gibson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Rekaya, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?
Food Temptress Cookbook Store’s mission is to connect customers to cookbooks by Black authors that inspire creativity and preserve food traditions. It exists to support and amplify the works of underrepresented voices in the food and publishing industries. This independent bookstore also pays homage to the mothers, grandmothers and ancestors who have created edible, magical moments in the kitchen.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I’m Rekaya Gibson, the founder and owner of the Food Temptress Cookbook Store, featuring culinary books by Black authors. I launched an online store in Nov. 2021 after reviewing more than 50 cookbooks for Cuisine Noir magazine that connects the African diaspora through food, drink and travel and celebrates Black food cultures. I opened a physical location in June 2023 in Virginia Beach, inside the Painted Tree Boutiques.
Food Temptress Cookbook Store makes it easy for people to find cookbooks by, for and about people in the African diaspora under one roof. It keeps books in circulation while preserving food traditions and recipes that serve as a
historical record for generations to come.
My food journey started in New Orleans where I fell in love with food. The ‘Food Temptress’ name is based on my novel “The Food Temptress” where my character, Ambrosia, uses food to seduce men and it converts them into the perfect mates. In 2009, I created “The Food Temptress” blog to stay connected with readers. On January 1, 2014, it became a food blog exclusively. I developed recipes, tested existing recipes and reviewed food-related products. Also, I maintained a yearly calendar to celebrate food holidays. In 2017, I took a hiatus from blogging to concentrate on my Food Temptress brand by exploring local restaurants, attending food and drink events and expanding my freelance writing career.
Now, I spend my days as the food and drink reporter for The Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press and my evenings handling bookstore business.
Have you ever had to pivot?
My life changed on Aug. 29, 2005, when Hurricane Katrina blew into New Orleans as a Category 3 storm. About 5 feet of water entered my home and my car and most of my possessions were underwater.
I extended my Florida vacation and waited for city officials to give residence the “all clear” but it didn’t come right away.
I selected Las Vegas, Nevada as my resting place because I had spent a year there in the past and made some connections. It seemed like the quickest way to get back on my feet. I lived and worked in “Sin City” for about five years before deciding to relocate to Virginia – a state I always wanted to live.
Before driving from Nevada into Arizona across the Hoover Dam, a RV in front of me was labeled Hurricane.
I never would’ve thought a tropical system would set the wheels in motion for where I am today.
We’d love to hear your thoughts about selling platforms like Amazon/Etsy vs selling on your own site.
Food Temptress Cookbook Store fulfills online book orders by using Bookshop.org. Readers have access to a database of more than a million books in any genres. Our store gets a percentage of the affiliate book sales and twice a year, it receives a share of Bookshop’s profits. Recently, the platform added Ebooks to its catalog.
Bookshop.org was launched in Jan. 2020, making it a fairly new marketplace that’s harder to compete with prices of other websites.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.foodtemptresscookbookstore.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/foodtemptresscookbookstore
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/foodtemptresscookbookstore
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@foodtemptresscookbookstore451
Image Credits
Curtis Anderson