A lady with diverse interests, Grosvenor is best referred to as a writer and culinary anthropologist. During her travels abroad, she turned interested in the African diaspora and the way African foods and recipes traveled and altered as a result of it.

Writer, culinary anthropologist. Grosvenor was born to Frank and Clara Smart on April 4, 1938, in Fairfax, Allendale County. When she was ten, her family moved from the South Carolina lowcountry, the place Grosvenor spoke Gullah, to Philadelphia. By that time, she had developed an curiosity in food and cooking. After highschool, Grosvenor went to Paris and traveled all through Europe. She has been married twice and has two daughters.

A girl with diversified pursuits, Grosvenor is finest often known as a author and culinary anthropologist. During her travels abroad, thetravelnotes she turned interested within the African diaspora and the way African foods and recipes traveled and adjusted as a result of it. Her first book, Vibration Cooking; or, The Travel Notes of a Geechee Girl, was printed in 1970. It's a novel mixture of recipes, reminiscences, and stories from family and mates. It reveals Grosvenor’s strong devotion to these individuals in addition to her growing interest in Afro-Atlantic foodways and culinary history. This curiosity has been additional developed in Vertamae Cooks within the Americas’ Family Kitchen (1996) and Vertamae Cooks Again (1999), and in her cooking collection, Seasonings, for public radio and Americas’ Family Kitchen on the public Broadcasting Service (PBS).

Grosvenor’s other interests have led her in a number of directions. She has written for such diverse publications as Ebony, the brand new York Times, the Village Voice, Essence, Life, and the Washington Post. In 1972 she revealed a historical past of black servitude within the United States and England, Thursdays and each Other Sunday Off: A Domestic Rap. She has additionally been an editor for Elan Magazine and served on the Literary Task Force for the South Carolina Arts Commission. She has lectured throughout the Americas, catered movie star affairs, and been a guest on many television reveals. She has acted on Broadway and in the films Daughters of the Dust and Beloved. She is maybe greatest identified, nevertheless, as a regular contributor to National Public Radio (the place she has been a commentator on All Things Considered ) and PBS.

Throughout her profession, Grosvenor has continued her loving explorations of lowcountry culture. She was a author in residence for the Penn Center on St. Helena Island and labored on the National Geographic Explorer documentary, "Gullah." She won an Emmy for "Growing Up Gullah," a narrative for the Washington, D.C., program, Capitol Edition. She has combined her love of theater and cooking within the folks opera, Nyam, which is Gullah for "eat."

Grosvenor, Vertamae. Vibration Cooking; or, The Travel Notes of a Geechee Girl. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1970.