Ayida Solé discusses Haitian cooking and culture at the Waltham Public Library

Ayida Solé, founder of The Haitian Croissant, a “dynamic studio and brand that celebrates Haitian culture,” and a philanthropic foundation by the same name, spoke at the Waltham Public Library on Thursday.

Solé, 28, told the audience about her experience living abroad in Paris and writing her cookbook.

“I Can Cook” is an iterative, step-by-step selection of Haitian recipes, both traditional and fusions with different cuisines. 

The book provides recipes for pikliz, a pickled cabbage condiment common in Haitian cuisine, and epis, a flavorful sauce used to season many Haitian dishes, in addition to full meals such as rice and beans, the national dish of Haiti. 

For newbies to Haitian cooking, Solé wants her book and company to “help the world fall in love with Haitian food.”

The book, which she self-published with help from her friends, was a labor of love.

“I refer to her as my first child,” Solé said about the book.

“I Can Cook” required months of work fine-tuning the recipes, staging and shooting the dishes and designing the layout of the book.

The idea for the book came when Solé was living in Paris during the coronavirus pandemic. Browsing a cookbook store, she was surprised that they only had one shelf for Caribbean cuisines — and no Haitian cookbooks.

“I Can Cook,” which was released in 2023, sparked a book tour. She also appeared on a segment of NBC10 Boston, where she made djon djon ramen, fusing Haitian and Japanese cuisines.

Solé’s work has reached people like Danielle Cutillo, who found Solé’s Instagram page when she returned to America after six years of living in Haiti. Cutillo made the trip from her home in Worcester to the Waltham Public Library specifically for the event.

The cookbook was a continued effort by Solé to help bring Haitian cuisine and culture to the rest of the world, an initiative she started years earlier.

The Haitian Croissant

After falling in love with Parisian culture, fashion and food — especially pastries and, you guessed it, croissants, Solé extended her semester abroad in Paris and finished out her college degree in the city. She graduated in December 2019 and began working.

Solé then started The Haitian Croissant in May 2020, in the early months of the pandemic.

During that time, Solé had to shelter in place alone in her Paris apartment. The Cambridge, Mass., native missed her family and friends — and Haitian food.

Though a dark and isolating time, the pandemic also provided Solé an opportunity to start her company and foundation. With more people finding content and spending time online, Solé began filming cooking videos, mainly in her Paris apartment.

Now reunited with her family in Massachusetts, Solé loves when they can come to presentations like Thursday night’s appearance at the Waltham library. In attendance on Thursday was Solé’s mother, brother and young cousin. Solé said the platform and opportunity to speak mean more to her when her family is in the audience.

Moving forward, Solé hopes to write a second cookbook, which she intends to focus on the history of Haiti and specific dishes.