A review by smalltownbookmom
The Rib King by Ladee Hubbard

3.0

Solid 3.5 stars for this ruthless examination of race, class, white privilege and the cultural appropriation of “Black genius” set in early 20th century Chicago. The story follows August Sitwell, a Black groundskeeper working for the Barclays, a down on their luck upper class white family. When Sitwell gets promoted to work in the main house with the other all-Black house servants things start to go awry. He makes friends with the cook Miss Mamie but their friendship is ruined after Mr Barclay forces Sitwell to help him steal her famous rib sauce recipe. Sitwell’s rage and resentment at his treatment (his image is also used on the label of the sauce without any compensation) builds to a tragic accident that has long-lasting fall-out for all the Black staff. The second half of the novel jumps forward and we get to see the lasting negative effects on the various servants later in their lives as a direct consequence of Sitwell’s and Barclay’s actions. Overall a very unique look into the life of African American domestic servants in a version of Upstairs, Downstairs that will have you feeling outrage for all the many ways Black culture has been appropriated over the years by privileged white people. Definitely worth a read and if you’re looking for other books about food empires try The lager queen of Minnesota or The chicken sisters.