A historic cherry pie recipe with an important message

For Michael Platt, cooking is about far more than putting ingredients together to produce an edible (and hopefully delicious) end result. It’s about sharing stories, creating a dialogue, exploring important historical events and, most importantly, having a positive impact on the world.

While all that sounds impressive, it becomes even more so when you learn that Michael, who was born in the US state of Maryland, is a teenager who has just finished high school.

Michael's love of baking and commitment to helping others runs deep; when he was just 11 years old he launched his first business, Michael’s Desserts, fuelled by a desire to do what he could to alleviate food insecurity in his local community. From the outset, Michael’s Desserts operated on a one-for-one model; for every dessert sold, he would give another away to someone hungry or in need.

Thanks to the power of social media and a stint on Food Network’s Kids Baking Championship, news of Michael’s endeavour grew fast – and so did his business. These days he works with homeless shelters, food banks and domestic violence centres in the local area, donating both proceeds and desserts to these organisations.

Courtesy of Michael Platt

A teenager on a mission, Michael brings a similar spirit to his latest project, Recipes for Change: 12 Recipes Inspired by a Year in Black History. The illustrated cookbook, aimed a primary school-age children, chronicles 12 pivotal moments in Black history – covering important events like the Greensboro sit-ins, the Selma to Montgomery civil rights marches, and the Black Power salute issued at the 1968 Summer Olympics.

The book recounts these important events in an engaging way that young children will be able to understand, without trivialising them. Michael says that a desire to spark a real interest in history amongst children was a key motivation behind him working on the book. 

“When I was younger, I was inspired heavily by the people I got to write about in the book, and I loved the idea of being able to share that,” he says. “I really wanted Recipes for Change to inspire kids and make history feel relevant and interesting – rather than daunting or alienating –  while also getting them excited about cooking."

As well as retelling notable moments in Black history and celebrating the lives of individuals such as Martin Luther King Jr., Georgia Gilmore and Bobby Seale, Michael also weaves his simple recipes – influenced by these events – into the book.

Recipe for Change: 12 Recipes Inspired by a Year in Black History by Michael Platt. Illustrations by Alleanna Harris.

Michael developed the recipes himself, working from his family kitchen. “I really enjoyed the process of researching the dishes and then developing and testing the recipes,” he explains. “Some of the dishes were ones that I’ve grown up loving and that my family have made for years, like the fried chicken, while others weren’t previously known to me, but were an important part of African-American culture."

His cherry pie, for example, is inspired by the Greensboro sit-ins and a specific event in February 1960, when four Black college students – who would later become known as The Greensboro Four – sat down at a segregated ‘whites only’ Woolworth's lunch counter and attempted to order cherry pie.

Despite being refused service, they politely and peacefully remained in place until the store closed. This sparked a sit-in movement that spread across a number of American states, galvanising young people and having an important impact on the civil rights movement. By July of that year, that same restaurant had begun serving Black people at its lunch counter.

This recipe, with its buttery pie crust and almond and cherry filling, is Micheal’s thoughtful, and very tasty, tribute to The Greensboro Four.  

For US ingredients and measurements, use the drop-down menu and select 'Cups'.

Recipe for Change: 12 Recipes Inspired by a Year in Black History by Michael Platt. Illustrations by Alleanna Harris.

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