Diaspora Food Stories

We're heading back to the beautiful island of La Réunion for this conversation with food content creator Jennie Léonie. Located in the Indian Ocean, La Réunion is a small island known for its warmth and dedication to preserving Creole culture and history. Jennie grew up in a family that shaped her strong connection to the island's culinary culture. On her Instagram page and YouTube channel, she sh...

We're back for part 2 as we follow Chef Russell Jackson from California to New York and the opening of his first restaurant Reverence NYC, which he closed in February 2025. However, as a chef who knows how to innovate, he is on to his next projects,  Unity Market  and  Reverence Phoenix, which are set to open in New York's iconic Central Park on June 20.  Check out the second part of our conversat...

NYC-based chef Russell Jackson doesn't do things like others when it comes to his work and how he looks at food.  The industry veteran of 49 years has worked in some of the best restaurants from West to East and also developed his own concepts in between to present food the way he feels it should be; in its simplest form, yet delicious. We're talking with him in this 2-part series that starts in C...

(As part of our work to present food cultures of the African diaspora through language, this episode is available in French only. However, you can read about the upcoming The Sommet & Festival International des Chefs Créoles in Reunion on Cuisine Noir). Ceci est un épisode spécial du podcast de Diaspora Food Stories en Français avec l'animatrice invitée Madalena Pedro Miala en conversation avec Je...

Zella Palmer, is an author, professor, filmmaker, curator, scholar and the Chair and Director of the Dillard University Ray Charles Program in African-American Material Culture in New Orleans, Louisiana. Palmer is committed to documenting and preserving the legacy African American, Creole, Indigenous and LatinX culinary history. As the Chair of the Dillard University Ray Charles Program, Palmer fi...

Sheri Raleigh is a prominent chef Instructor and the owner of Cast Iron Skillet Culinaire, LLC, based in Waco, Texas. She has made significant contributions to the culinary world as the founder of the Gifts From The Ancestors Foodways Project and the author of two notable works, "Okra & Tomatoes" and "Creole Celebrations." With a rich background in cross-cultural education, Sheri offers community...

Zabriel Rivers is a Gullah Geechee singer, cultural artist, and educator celebrated for his "soaring voice and magnetic stage presence that brings both spiritual depth and storytelling brilliance." Hailing from St. Helena Island in South Carolina, Zabriel shares the language, stories, and songs of his heritage that inspire audiences while ensuring that the living legacy of Gullah Geechee music con...

Fabrice Armand is the founder of TRIB Marketing Agency and the co- founder of the Creole Food Festival, the only Creole cultural festival taking place in four cities while connecting the American South, the Caribbean, Latin America, South America and South America. Born and raised in Haiti, Fabrice came to the U.S. as a teenager and in college began connecting to the work of building community. Th...

Hawa Hassan was born in Somalia and left before the age of six due to conflict in the country. As a refugee in Kenya with her mother and siblings, Hawa would later receive an opportunity to leave the country at the age of seven and relocate to Seatle, Washington where she would complete her schooling before moving to New York to pursue a career in modeling. After a years of modeling, successfully,...

Doreen Irungu is the founder of Ustawi Afrika, an amazing organization that trains women farmers around food sovereignty and sustainability.   To date, her organization   has worked with thousands of women and continues to champion women's contributions to agriculture in Kenya. Her work has transformed the livelihoods of over 10,000 women farmers, significantly improving food security, economic in...

Nigerian chef Gbolabo Gibbs Adebakin, known simply as Chef Gibbs, founded the Nigeria Food Summit to host the largest gathering of chefs, restauranteurs, farmers, producers and more for an amazing day of speakers, panel discussions, master classes and networking. Set to take place again on Friday, March 21 on Victoria Island in Lagos, Nigeria, Chef Gibbs joins us along with restauranteur and chef...

Zule Ankamah is the chef and owner of Zuleeats in Windsor, Ontario, known for her savory Ghanaian meat, veggie and vegan pies.   Once a hobby to take up time during the pandemic, the mother of 4 left her 26-year career at Caesars Windsor to start her entrepreneurial journey and hasn't looked back.   Passionate about connecting others to her culture through food, foodies can enjoy Zuleeats at its l...

If there is anything we remember from our childhood, it is food and the hands that prepared it. For Carl Vann, it is his grandmother who he would sit and watch in the kitchen as she prepared some of the family favorites that he as an adult would later recreate.   This time spent together before losing her when he was 12 would be the inspiration behind his business and app called Pass the Peaz.   T...

Lenzy Ruffin is a photographer based in the Washington, DC area who began working with other small business owners looking to do videos to promote their services. As someone who grew up in a family of amazing cooks, it was a cooking show that caught his attention one day on PBS and after watching, he set out to create one as a personal project, eventually finding a chef and producing more than 100...

San Francisco private chef turned artisan baker, Azikiwee "Z"Anderson, turned to sourdough bread baking during the COVID-19 pandemic as a creative outlet and a way to cope with the social unrest following the murder of George Floyd in 2020. After many tries and the determination to get it right, he slowly built a following among friends and family, which today includes the Bay Area and beyond as t...

We did it! Another great year of conversations with amazing trendsetters in food, drink and travel. We're wrapping up for the year and will return on Wednesday, January 1 with a new episode featuring Az Anderson of Rize Up Bakery in San Francisco. Be sure to catch up on past episode and you can watch all episodes on our YouTube Channel for The Global Food and Drink Initiative, the producer of Dias...

Senegalese chef Oumar Diouf's culinary journey has taken him from his home country in West Africa, to Argentina, Brazil to the United States. Currently living in the Bay Area,  Oumar is sharing how food became a way to connect with people and different food cultures.   He has owned restaurants in both Argentina and the U.S. and continues to stay connected to his Senegalese roots no matter where he...

We're reconnecting with Soul of America founder Thomas Dorsey for a special update since the company launched its Black travel guides 30 years ago. Thomas is back to gives share what the last 30 years have been like and most importantly, what's next. Listen and Connect Website Instagram Diaspora Food Stories is produced by The Global Food and Drink Initiative, a 501c3 nonprofit. Together with your...

If there is anything you want to learn about the Caribbean island of Haiti, our next guest is the perfect person to get to know. Nadege Fleurimond, a Haitian-born culinary innovator, author and now restaurateur, is redefining Haitian cuisine through her acclaimed establishment, BunNan , located in Brooklyn's vibrant Flatbush Caton Market with a second location opening soon. Her culinary journey in...

Adjo Honsou is celebrating   her victory as the winner of "The Great American Recipe," season 3. The home cook and scientist turned food entrepreneur proudly represented her native country of Togo on the national show with recipes that authentically shared her culinary DNA on a plate challenge after challenge. Now the St. Louis owner of Fufu N Sauce is embracing the next chapter of how her journey...

If you know a little bit about Berkeley, California, one will agree that it is provides the perfect backdrop for an annual event called The Bizerkely Food Festival that is the largest vegan food festival showcasing the best in plant-based cuisine, art and apparel. Founder and plant-based lifestyle advocate Erika Hazel launched the first one in 2020 with scavenger hunt version that got vegan food e...

Born and raised in Zimbabwe, Kudakwashe Makoni, aka Chef Kuda, raised in the kitchen by his grandmother who he says spoiled him.   At 19, his family moved the U.S. settling in Texas where he went to school and began to pursue a career in industries other than food. But it wasn't long before food came calling and after going to culinary school and moving back to Zimbabwe to continue honing his skil...

Steps away from Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe is a beautity boutique hotel built from the vision of Dr. Matifadza Nyazema or Dr. Mati, former journalist and hospitality veteran. She built Mbano Manor Hotel from the ground up over the couse of three years between 2016 and 2019, opening her doors in February 2020 right before the world shut down for the COVID pandemic. But just as beautiful as the 18-r...

Steps away from Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe is a beautity boutique hotel built from the vision of Dr. Matifadza Nyazema or Dr. Mati, former journalist and hospitality veteran. She built Mbano Manor Hotel from the ground up over the couse of three years between 2016 and 2019, opening her doors in February 2020 right before the world shut down for the COVID pandemic. But just as beautiful as the 18-r...

Steps away from Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe is a beautity boutique hotel built from the vision of Dr. Matifadza Nyazema or Dr. Mati, former journalist and hospitality veteran. She built Mbano Manor Hotel from the ground up over the couse of three years between 2016 and 2019, opening her doors in February 2020 right before the world shut down for the COVID pandemic. But just as beautiful as the 18-r...