Tanya Holland's California Soul: Recipes from a Culinary Journey West features more than 80 seasonally inspired recipes from the acclaimed Oakland-based chef, who first made a name for herself in the Bay Area with her modern soul food restaurant, Brown Sugar Kitchen. Paying homage to her Black Southern roots, Tanya also brings a healthy dose of her hometown sensibility to each dish, using local, sustainable, chef-driven and seasonal ingredients in all her recipes. Among many standout dishes, readers will delight in making such dishes from the book, such as Zucchini–Scallion Waffles with Toasted Pecan Romesco, Grilled Shrimp and Corn with Avocado White BBQ Sauce, Rhubarb Upside-Down Cake and Honey Lavender Chess Pie.

In addition to recipes, California Soul highlights the importance and influence of the Great Migration—when Black families moved from the rural South to the Northeast, Midwest and West between 1910 and 1970—on American culture, including the food we eat today. The book begins with a foreward from Alice Walker and shines the spotlight on 15 other contemporary Black Californian foodmakers and artisans, whose work is putting California on the map as a soul food destination.

In the Bay Area, Tanya Holland is best known for her Oakland soul food destination, Brown Sugar Kitchen. Although the restaurant recently closed, she remains a respected stalwart in the local and national food scene. Fans of the Bravo cooking series "Top Chef" saw her compete on Season 15, and today, the Oakland-based chef brings her delicious recipes to her Oprah Winfrey Network series, "Tanya's Kitchen Table" and thought-provoking food-focused conversation to her podcast, "Tanya's Table." Chef Tanya holds a Grande Diplôme from La Varenne Ecole de Cuisine, has served as the president of the San Francisco chapter of Les Dames d'Escoffier and is a Trustee of James Beard Foundation and Chair of Awards Committee.

California Soul: Recipes from a Culinary Journey West was co-written with Maria C. Hunt and Dr. Kelley Fanto Deetz.