Trap Kitchen: Bangin' Recipes from Compton

by Malachi Jenkins, Roberto Smith, Marisa Mendez

Overview

A funny, irreverent cookbook for the unconventional home cook looking to spice up their kitchen—featuring over 30 soul food recipes inspired by the flavors of Compton.

Meet Spank and News—the chefs behind the cult-favorite Los Angeles restaurant—in this “part recipe collection and part autobiography” that “details the duo’s rise from gang life to cooking for the likes of Snoop Dogg and Kendrick Lamar” (Time Out).
 
When two former members of Los Angeles’ most nefarious rival gangs decided to unite under one oven, they had no idea that they would be creating an empire. Trap Kitchen is a glimpse into the meals that have now become famous in the L.A. streets thanks to the series of pop-up restaurants that continue to bloom throughout the area. Celebrities and residents alike flock to the locations for soulful meals—but it’s more than that.
 
Having lost friends and family to violence, we learn how the masterminds behind Trap Kitchen sought to change the paths they were on, using cooking as their driving force. While other cookbooks may boast a level of urban-skewed appeal in their realness, this cookbook also delves into the stories of why they became involved in cooking in the first place.
 
Inside, you’ll also find over 30 fun, delicious recipes that have delighted the restaurant’s famous clientele, such as:
 
• Trap Mac
• Bacon and Young Cheesy
• Too Much Sauce BBQ Chicken
• Chicken & Waffles
• Seafood Gumbo
• Skrrrrrt Steak
• All In My Grill Salmon
• Young Chops on the Heat
 
Trap Kitchen is both a heartfelt and stomach-filling experience to learn how two men changed their stars by seeking out peace and good food for themselves and their community.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780997146264
Publisher:	Kingston Imperial
Publication date:	12/12/2017
Series:	Trap Kitchen , #1
Pages:	110
Sales rank:	713,627
Product dimensions:	9.00(w) x 6.90(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Malachi Jenkins and Roberto Smith are childhood friends from neighboring rival gangs, brought together by their two passions: food and girls. Today they are the co-founders and owners of Trap Kitchen LA. The underground culinary experience was completely fueled off Instagram. Their colorful past has made them media darlings, having appeared on the Today Show, Martha & Snoop's Potluck Dinner Party, VICE, The Huffington Post, Fox 11 News, and BET. They are also the authors of the Trap Kitchen line of cookbooks, including the original Trap Kitchen: Bangin' Recipes from Compton and Trap Kitchen: Mac N' All Over the World.

Marisa Mendez is a media personality and journalist who has built her reputation around all things digital, working for some of the biggest names in entertainment and hip-hop. The New Jersey native is most recognized for her work as the co-host of Joe Budden's I'll Name This Podcast Later, at Hot 97 on Ebro In The Morning, and as a writer on Funkmaster Flex's blog, In Flex We Trust. After leaving Joe's podcast, Marisa launched her own, Marisa Explains It All, which hit number one on iTunes' Music Podcasts chart after just two episodes. In addition to her career on the mic, she is also a digital strategist, and has managed social media campaigns for Pusha T's clothing line Play Cloths, French Montana, Swizz Beatz, Nicki Minaj and more.

Editorial Reviews

02/05/2018
Jenkins and Smith, who once belonged to rival L.A. gangs, became friends and started a catering business marketed solely on Instagram. Media outlets took notice, as did Snoop Dogg and Martha Stewart, paving the way for their debut cookbook, an underwhelming volume of three dozen recipes written in obscenity-riddled slang. They begin with two gravy recipes—one with apple, the other with cranberry—before moving on to side dishes featuring chicken, turkey, seafood, steak, and pork. The directions are entertaining but can be tricky to follow, not just because they are all set in italics. The apple cinnamon corn bread is just sautéed apples stirred into a store-bought mix, but the instructions fail to mention what to do with the cinnamon or why there is sour cream in the list of ingredients. The Chicken Curry in a Pot, Boy calls for potatoes, Jamaican curry powder, and bottled scotch bonnet; as for the accompanying rice, “y’all should know how to cook that shit if you’re already using a cookbook.” Having found a winning formula on Instagram, the authors lean heavily on eye-catching photographs by Teddy Wolff to fill out a book more notable for its novelty than its utility. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

Soon after the neighborhood got wind of Trap Kitchen’s impeccable service, celebrities caught on to the food craze . . . Tyrese was an early client, and now the duo boasts a star-studded clientele including Justin Bieber, Dave Chappelle, Chris Brown, Common (pictured above), Tyga, Kylie Jenner, Kendall Jenner, Ice Cube, Anthony Anderson, Kanye West, Kim Kardashian, Post Malone, The Roots and August Alsina.”
—Billboard    

“Anything but conventional—but then again, the culinary come-up of Malachi Jenkins and Roberto Smith was anything but conventional. Part recipe collection and part autobiography, the Trap Kitchen book details the duo’s rise from gang life to cooking for the likes of Snoop and Kendrick Lamar.  They also make food fun. Hands-down, it’s the most enjoyable read on this list.”
—Time Out

“Jenkins and Smith, who once belonged to rival L.A. gangs, became friends and started a catering business marketed solely on Instagram. Media outlets took notice, as did Snoop Dogg and Martha Stewart, paving the way for their debut cookbook”
—Publishers Weekly

“Two gang members from rival hoods have joined forces to prove that trapping can be a legitimate come up.”
—Huffington Post

“With more than 284,000 followers on Instagram, Trap Kitchen is a true Los Angeles success story . . . The media eventually got a whiff of the venture and business immediately exploded. Jenkins has since catered for the likes of Snoop Dog and Tyrese—even Martha Stewart.”
—LA Weekly

“Some of the most successful business models spring out of creating new from the ordinary. For the creators of the Trap Kitchen, that’s exactly what they did. By creating a full-service, underground catering business, two Compton, California-based young men have experienced the power of social media, scrappy business and good food . . . Their success quickly moved beyond the streets of Compton, gaining attention, and creating customers out of notable celebrities like Tyga, The Game, Kendrick Lamar and more, who now turn to the Trap Kitchen to cater their parties.”
—Forbes

“Soon, people started placing orders and slowly, their catering business Trap Kitchen LA was birthed.”
—Vibe

“ . . . dishes are as diverse as his 236,000 Instagram followers.”
—Vice

From the Publisher