[6] Her grandmother, Annie Henderson, who raised Angelou and her brother for most of their childhood, supported herself and her family during the early part of the 20th century and the Depression with food stalls catering for Black factory workers, which eventually developed into a store.

[12] She followed up The Welcome Table with a second cookbook, Great Food, All Day Long: Cook Splendidly, Eat Smart, published in 2010, which focused on weight loss through portion control and flavor.

[13] Welcome Table is dedicated "to every wannabe cook who will dare criticism by getting into the kitchen and stirring up some groceries", and well as to Angelou's friend Oprah Winfrey, "who said she wanted a big, pretty cookbook".

[10] The essays focus on events, paired with food, that occurred throughout Angelou's life, from her childhood in Stamps, Arkansas, to her adolescence and young adulthood spent with her mother Vivian Baxter, and to her career, which brought her fame.

"[16] As her fame grows, "the food world widens (tamales, pâté, minestrone, chachouka)"[3] and her dining companions are also among the famous (Oprah Winfrey, Jessica Mitford, Rosa Guy).