Traditional soul food — often called “southern cooking” or “comfort food” — includes staples like fried chicken, collard greens, black-eyed peas, cornbread, sweet potatoes, and peach cobbler.
While soul food shares many of these ingredients, it is rooted in African American heritage and culture.
Defined as Southern cuisine prepared and eaten by Black communities, soul food gained its name during the Black Power movement of the late 1960s and ’70s.
Four chapters. one family. every recipe, every plate, every hand-stirred pot tells the story of how a little girl from jackson, mississippi turned grandma’s lessons into a los angeles institution.
Mary McCallum grew up in Jackson, Mississippi, where she learned to cook from her mother in a home filled with love and family traditions. The recipes she learned as a little girl would one day become the heart of M&M Soul Food.
Mary moved to Los Angeles to build a better life for her children. She started by selling dinners from the trunk of her car, and people quickly fell in love with her homemade soul food.
Mary’s brother, Ventress “Venni Mac” McCallum, helped continue the family business and grow the M&M name. Today, the restaurant is a symbol of hard work, family, and staying original while sharing soul food with generations of people.
"We, the family of this great legacy, hold in our hearts the great strides she made — the opportunities she provided, the empire she built, the love she spread, and the unity she obtained."