Why Jerrelle Guy Thinks Cooking Should Help You Feel More Like Yourself
In her new cookbook, We Fancy, the author of Black Girl Baking reframes cooking as care, creativity, and a way to reconnect with yourself.
Allrecipes / Tressie Zellner / Simon Element / Adobe
I first paged through We Fancy, Jerrelle Guy’s new cookbook, at the very height of holiday baking. I laughed out loud when she referenced all the orphaned, half-used cans of pumpkin purée hiding in the fridge—yep, I thought, I have one of those. This is the very essence of Guy and her book, which comes out Feb. 10; it feels like you’re planning dinner while chatting with a friend. Her voice is relatable, her tips are easy to incorporate (turn that pumpkin into a pasta sauce, page 87), and most of all, Guy manages to make dishes feel special without complicating them. One of my favorite suggestions is a no-brainer: When making sticky stovetop coconut rice (page 162), swap the regular water for coconut water—boom, delicious—why had I never thought of that?
We Fancy is so much more than a compilation of recipes. For Guy, it’s an emotional return to cooking and caring for herself after she landed in the spotlight post Black Girl Baking in 2018. Almost overnight, Guy became a sensation—Food & Wine has called the cookbook one of the best baking books of all time—something the quiet home baker and food photographer never expected.
Now, in We Fancy, she finds her way back to the kitchen and to a lifestyle centered on good cooking and “pinkies up” details like easy garnishes and relatable tips (“embrace the meanwhile”) that satisfy in more ways than one. I can promise you this: My copy of We Fancy is already dog-eared, and my Super Bowl party menu will absolutely include Guy’s hot pickle dip (excerpted below) and the crispy Buffalo Brussels sprouts (page 182).
Allrecipes: Black Girl Baking was (and still is) a big deal. Among other nods, it was nominated for a James Beard. And yet, the immediate fame and expectation that came with that recognition took its toll. You detail some of that in your new book, and I think your very real take on struggling to find balance under the gloss of life is extremely relatable.
Jerrelle Guy: I love that it’s so relatable. I really wasn’t prepared for that onslaught of attention, podcasts, interviews. I kept thinking you can do this, but I’m such an introvert. I’m used to being in my studio, working alone. I feel like my home is my business; that’s the heart of everything. I needed to come back to thinking of food as a hobby. When I lost my hobby—when I made it this thing that had to be successful—I stopped having fun. That lifestyle doesn’t work, it’s not sustainable, it’s not nourishing.
We Fancy is really about reclaiming the kitchen, that safe space, as your own.
The title was the first thing I had. I brought the idea to Doris, my editor. She wanted to do a baking book, but I was so out of balance. My body was spent, and I was afraid of developing only desserts. I need some vegetables and balance. I had just had my engagement party, it was a little after COVID, and I had friends and family over. I had a bunch of food around, and we just did it up. It was so extra. After COVID, everyone was talking about not doing extra, but I needed happiness. I needed to do everything that made me happy. That was the catalyst of the idea, that was the feeling. I wanted to make everything I crave and love and just celebrate that.
The undercurrent of the book is really that cooking and being "fancy" is a state of mind. It's like you allow the reader/home cook to breathe easy when using this book. That sentiment seems to reflect your own needs when creating this book.
It is a mindset. Man, I didn’t want to even think about measuring. I didn’t want that precision hanging over my shoulder. I wanted to make sure I was enjoying the process. I was talking to myself, thinking, How do I free people from the pressures? Cooking has really empowered me in my life. When I feel free in the kitchen, it shows up in other places in my life. How can I explain that to people? How can I get them into that state?
The "pinkies up" tips and illustration are fantastic, kudos to whoever came up with that.
It was me. I think they were like OK…but I love the silliness of it. I’m talking about serious stuff, but also, there should be some comedic relief. I can be serious, meditative, philosophical, but when you meet me, I’m goofy.
You really harness the power of the garnish. Do you think that came from your work in styling and photographing food, or have you always added little extras to dishes?
A lot of it comes from food styling and thinking, 'How do I make this look really delicious?' I would also think, what can I garnish with that’s already in the food? Your mind is going to think about eating it, so it shortens the experience. I garnished for photos, and now I do it for myself. That switch is really about self-loving and making something beautiful for myself.
Along those lines, I made the carrot and feta flatbread on page 90, and one of the steps is making those little carrot flowers. It’s definitely extra, but it made an impact.
I love that you did the carrot thing! They’re so pretty and simple, and they make you feel happy.
You moved from Boston to Texas. Are there foods and traditions in the Northeast that you miss in Texas?
I’m originally from West Palm Beach. All of these places are such different experiences. In Boston, I did so much more walking that put me face-to-face with people, stores, and markets. I had this teeny-tiny fridge, and I walked everywhere and would carry it all back. I remember always going to get new things. I think my pantry in Boston was my most interesting one. Boston is so rooted, so passionate about culture. Dallas is a newer city, and you can get everything. In Dallas, you build your own world, but in Boston, the city is your world.
Can we talk about the guava-cream cheese cookie?! As you put it, it’s like a cross between a cookie, a Danish, and a cake, and it has serious wow factor. (By the way, I couldn’t find guava so I used apricot jam.)
Oh good! I love that it’s based on the pastelitos [Cuban pastries] that I grew up with in Florida. They are one of my favorite desserts. The recipe just came about. Forget about measuring, it’s just about these three things [pastry, cheese, guava]. It’s so satisfying—and it’s so much of the spirit of the book. This is how I want to approach my life. I don’t want to follow some blueprint and measure its success. I actually recently rewrote the recipe. I quadrupled it, filled it with frangipane, and called it an almond croissant cookie. It’s perfect.
You include journal reflections, a list of book titles, and cookbook club discussion points at the back of the book—was that your idea? It really ties into the self-help genre that you said you grew up with, and it feels like you're meeting people where they are.
It was my idea, and I fought to keep it in there. I think people do cookbook clubs, so why wouldn’t there be questions in the back? I had a lot to say. I do prompts in my newsletter. I want people to stick with this book and start thinking and freeing their minds. These are the books I was working with; these are books that are my staples that bring me back to myself. I was touching on all these things, like how do you empower yourself, how do you take back the narrative, and make it feel like you’re in control of your life. The cookbook didn’t really feel complete without those. So much of this process is how can I genuinely help myself and help others? These questions hit the core of why we eat what we eat, how we nourish ourselves, and how we make cooking a healing process and not just a means to an end. The things we do without thinking become us. We should reflect on them.
Jerrelle Guy’s Hot Pickle Dip
Allrecipes / Julia Hartbeck
As a pickle addict, I love to make homemade giardiniera—it’s the best excuse to clean the fridge of any stray or going vegetables—but I’m also no stranger to store-bought jars when I can’t find the time to pickle my own. This dip is my way of repurposing my collection of half-eaten jars of fridge pickles. Again, I prefer the array of colors and crunch in giardiniera, but you could try this with banana peppers, dill pickles, kimchi . . . Arguably, everything works in this steamy, tangy dip. —Jerrelle Guy
Serves 6 to 8
Ingredients
plain cream cheese 2 cups (16 ounces) softened
mayo ¼ cup
giardiniera hot or mild
1 (16-ounce) jar roughly chopped, plus ¼ cup brine reserved from the jar
garlic powder ½ teaspoon
onion powder ½ teaspoon
shredded mozzarella cheese ½ cup
shredded Parmesan cheese ½ cup
panko breadcrumbs, for sprinkling
olive oil, for drizzling
crudite, chips, crackers, or warm bread, for serving
Directions
PREHEAT THE OVEN to 400°F and have a shallow 1-quart baking dish nearby.
MIX: In a mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, mayo, reserved brine, garlic powder, onion powder, mozzarella cheese, and Parmesan, then fold in the giardiniera.
BAKE: Spoon the mixture into the baking dish, smoothing in an even layer. Sprinkle the top with the panko and drizzle over some olive oil. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until hot and gooey.
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SERVE: Remove from the oven and serve with your favorite dippers.
MAKE IT FANCY: Turn this into a Charcuterie Dip by topping the dip with ½ cup chopped hot soppressata, your favorite charcuterie meat, or plant-based salami before you sprinkle over the breadcrumbs.
Excerpted from WE FANCY. Copyright © 2026 by Jerrelle Guy. Reproduced by permission of Simon Element, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. All rights reserved.
Read the original article on Allrecipes
