The Deeply Spiced Meatballs That Call Back to Haiti
The New York Times
Since moving to Portland, Ore., 30 years ago, Elsy Dinvil has quietly introduced home cooks and chefs to the cuisine and stories of her country.
Growing up in Jérémie, Haiti, Elsy Dinvil often spent Sunday mornings watching her mother prepare meatballs: first at the market, picking the most marbled filets she could find, then at home, pulling out a manual grinder to prepare the meat. It was an education in cooking with care.
Ms. Dinvil’s mother died in 2018, two years before Ms. Dinvil self-published the recipe — and its story — in her e-book, “Cooking With My Mother: Your Guide to Haitian Homecooking.”
“My mother couldn’t even write her own name in Creole, so I know she’d be proud of me writing a book in another language,” she said.
Based in Oregon since the 1990s, Ms. Dinvil has become a beloved member of Portland’s food scene, sharing homey Haitian dishes like her mother’s meatballs at cooking classes and farmers’ markets through her company, Creole Me Up. She’s even worked with the award-winning Haitian chef and author Gregory Gourdet helping with his first pop-ups and in the lead-up to opening his restaurant Kann in 2022.
