The preservation hub
Start with one recipe.
You do not need a perfect archive. You need one conversation, one dish, one memory written down. Everything on this page serves that.
The method
Seven steps. One afternoon.
This is the entire system. It fits in a weekend visit or a single long video call.
Ask
Name the dish and the person. One of each. 'Can you show me how you make it?' opens more than any archive plan.
Watch
Stand in the kitchen while they cook. The recipe is in their hands, their pauses, the moment they decide it's ready.
Record
Film the hands, not the face, if they're shy. Voice memo the stories that come out while they stir — those are part of the dish.
Measure
Bring a scale and measuring spoons. Catch 'a pinch' mid-air and weigh it. Lovingly. They will tease you. Persist.
Write
Same day, while it's fresh: steps in order, their words where possible — including 'until it smells right.'
Save
One copy on paper, one in the cloud, one shared to the family chat. Three places. Kitchens flood, phones die, chats scroll on.
Share
Cook it for someone, badly, then better. A recipe that only sits in a file is still one memory away from lost.
The interview
Seven questions that unlock a recipe.
Ask them at the table, in the kitchen, on a call. Record the answers — the tangents are usually the treasure.
Start with the first and let them wander.
Who taught you this?
When did you usually make it?
What do you never measure?
What ingredient matters most — and which brand, exactly?
What changed when you moved?
Who made it best, and what did they do differently?
What should future generations know about this dish?
Tools that help
The kit gets you started. The recipe book goes deeper.
A free starter kit for the first conversation, and The Nigerian-American Table — 51 recipes written for diaspora kitchens.
See the booksOne preservation prompt a week.
Join The Recipe Before It’s Lost and get one question to ask your family, every week, until the archive exists.