It’s more than a pop up dinner series. It’s a movement.
These powerful words are the first I saw when I visited the Table is Set website to get the recipe for a seared trout dish and they have really stuck with me. Whether you are a newbie to this blog or an old faithful, it is clear that my love of fashion intersects with my love of community. I am a proud Black woman who wants to see other proud Black people have all the same advantages that our counterparts are able to have.
Did you know that only 16% of all chefs and head cooks in the USA are Black. And even more astounding, only 9.5% of restaurant managers are Black. That’s it. It is not that we are not abundant in the culinary industry but it is just like any industry. We just do not get the acknowledgement in the form of leadership positions or even front facing positions.
What makes this even more frustrating is that 35% of companies with diverse leadership are more likely to be profitable above industry medians. There are no reasons not to be inclusive! But hey- “this is america”.
Soul Food Sessions, is a series of nonprofit pop-up dinners founded in North Carolina that increase diversity in the food industry. They have partnered with Coca-Cola Consolidated, a bottler of Coca-Cola products to take these amazing dinners on the road and Washington,DC is the second stop on the tour. The chefs involved with these The Table is Set: A four city tour served with a coke have a chance to show their talents and a chance to help change the conversation revolving around diversity in the food industry. I am happy to have teamed up with them on this sponsored post to help raise awareness for this incredible event.
To honor this phenomenal movement, Jermaine and I decided to work with Soul Food Sessions on recreating the seared trout dish that the chefs will be cooking at the dinner. We went to our local Harris Teeter to get the ingredients but unfortunately a few of the peas were hard to find. So like everything in life we just decided to change it up a bit. Instead of a 5 Pea Succotash, this is a 2 pea one.
But please take a look at the full recipe here.
Jermaine and I are big seafood lovers but typically we are salmon people. It was pretty fun to try something a little different with the trout and let me tell you it was yummy to have a Coke- its been a while. The Coke paired really well with the flavor of the trout and the sweetness of the peas. The onions and bell peppers and peas- ohh wee. I wish we had made more!
But you have a chance to not only support the community and help create awareness for more diversity in the food industry by attending the dinner in Washington, DC on July 26th at Mess Hall. Let’s all put action where our words are by celebrating these amazing chefs trying to make a name for themselves.
It’s crazy but Jermaine and I are having a great time being hella domestic. He loves cooking and I love eating so it is a match made in heaven. With my new family dynamic the blog will evolve as well. Because he is SUCH a great cook, we will be sharing weekly recipes that we love AND he is going to have his own fun little section of the blog showcasing his style. But back to important things.
Here is my questions for you
The table is set for lasting change in the culinary industry, will you be there to support?
Thank you for supporting us in our endeavors!
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