On this episode, Zella interviews personal chef and caterer Chef Benjamin “BJ” Dennis. Dennis was born and raised in Charleston, South Carolina, and infuses the flavors and culture of the lowcountry into his native Gullah Geechee cuisine, bringing a new taste to an ever expanding culinary palate of the southern U.S. What differentiates Chef BJ’s food from his contemporaries in “southern” cooking is the homage he pays to his Gullah Geechee heritage, a culture formed by enslaved West and Central Africans in the coastal regions of South Carolina and Georgia known as the lowcountry, as well as parts of Florida and North Carolina.

Dennis infuses the techniques of his ancestors, learned from four years of study in St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, as well as the lessons of his grandparents about eating from the land, to create fresh interpretations of local dishes focusing on in-season, locally sourced vegetables and seafood. Recent trips to Trinidad and Tobago, Haiti, Barbados, Dominica, U.S. Virgin Islands, Angola, Bahamas, Benin, Togo, Senegal, Gambia, and Cameroon brought his work full circle. He has been featured on the Netflix award winning series "High on the Hog" and "Chefs Table," as well numerous newspaper and magazine publications. BJ connects the people and cultures of the African diaspora through food, bringing back a true taste of Gullah Geechee culture.

Culture & Flavor is Powered by Simplecast.

On this episode of Culture & Flavor, Zella talks with Dr. David Katerere, Research Platform Chair of Pharmaceutical and Biotech Advancement in Africa (PBA2) at Tshwane University of Technology in South Africa. He is the Co-Director of the recently established CSIR / TUT Cannabis and Hemp Research Centre. In this capacity, they provide contract extraction and formulation services for farmers and entrepreneurs in South Africa and the SADC region. He is the co-inventor of the nutraceuticals Niselo and Synmba, which promote wholesome, evidence-based nutrition and are commercialized for the market in Botswana and South Africa.

More recently these products have been licensed to BiaGo in Scotland for entry into the UK and Kenyan markets. David is also the Co-Editor of several books including the African Herbal Pharmacopoeia (AfHP), Ethnoveterinary Botanical Medicines (T&F) (2010), Systems Analysis Approach for Complex Global Challenges (Springer) (2018), and Traditional and Indigenous Knowledge for the Modern Era (T&F) (2019). Dr. Katerere teaches and researches across the pharmaceutical and biotech value chain, including product development from medicinal plants (for food, nutraceuticals and medicines) and clinical testing of botanicals, cannabis, medicine, and pharmaceuticals.

Culture & Flavor is Powered by Simplecast.

On this episode of Culture & Flavor, Zella talks with Tunde Wey, a Nigerian social practice artist using food, finance and investment capital to address economic disparities across geographies and demographics. His work engages systems that create material disparity, focusing particularly on how economics and finance impact working class Black people globally. Wey uses performance and installation, film, food, writing, and finance to confront disparities in material conditions and attempt interventions to address these socially constructed inequalities.

Wey’s work has been featured in The New York Times, NPR, GQ, The Washington Post, VOGUE, Black Enterprise, Food and Wine, as well as Oxford American, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, Roads & Kingdom, and a couple cookbooks/anthologies. His docuseries is a 2024 CANNESERIES Official Selection. He is a recipient of the Monroe Fellowship from Tulane University (2023) and the Ford Foundation Just Films Grant (2022).

Culture & Flavor is Powered by Simplecast.

On this episode, Zella talks to her favorite high school teacher, former Dance Director of the Lincoln Park High School Concert Dancers in Chicago, Illinois Efé McWorter. Efé, pronounced E-Fay, hails from the concert dance world of Chicago. Affectionately known as Mama E, she has brought a 40-year Chicago foundation of professional concert modern dance to LA where an actor flowed forth, winning the DC Black Film Festival 2019 Best Actress Award for her role in Tony Scott’s “TOGETHER.” She has joyously extended her love of performance to the world of entertainment through television, film, print, and theater. Efé is grateful for opportunities extended to continue her deep commitment to a life of enlightenment, illumination and the beauty that lies in telling stories through all media outlets. Grandmother to an actor and musician, she thanks her beautiful and talented daughter Mei-Ling for opening this fascinating world to her.

Culture & Flavor is Powered by Simplecast.

On this episode, Zella talks with Dr. Malinda Maynor Lowery and Hannah Goins. Dr. Lowery is a historian and documentary film producer who is a member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. In July 2021, she joined Emory University as the Cahoon Family Professor of American History, after spending 12 years at UNC-Chapel Hill and 4 years at Harvard University. Her second book, The Lumbee Indians: An American Struggle, was published by UNC Press in 2018. The book is a survey of Lumbee history from the eighteenth century to the present, written for a general audience. Her first book, Lumbee Indians in the Jim Crow South: Race, Identity, and the Making of a Nation (UNC Press, 2010) won several awards, including Best First Book of 2010 in Native American and Indigenous Studies.

Titles she has produced include the Peabody Award-winning "A Chef’s Life" (PBS, 2013-2018), "Somewhere South" (PBS, 2020), "Road to Race Day" (Crackle, 2020), the Emmy-nominated "Private Violence" (HBO, 2014), "In the Light of Reverence" (PBS, 2001), and two short films, "Real Indian" (1996), and "Sounds of Faith" (1997), both of which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Her current projects include essays on the shared history of Black and Indigenous Americans and a media experience on humor and racial stereotypes with the Smithsonian Institution. Her latest film, Lumbeeland, received an award for best production from the American Indian Heritage Celebration Award.

She has written over twenty book chapters or articles, on topics including American Indian migration and identity, school desegregation, federal recognition, religious music, and foodways, and has published essays for popular audiences in places like the New York Times, Oxford American, and Daily Yonder. She has won fellowships and grants from the Mellon Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Sundance Institute, the Ford Foundation, and others.

Hannah Goins is a member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. She received her J.D. with certification in Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy and M.P.S. in Indigenous Governance from the University of Arizona in 2022. She also holds a B.A. in American Indian Studies from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. She maintains a commitment to advocating for Indigenous Peoples and communities and fighting for the recognition and application of their rights.

Culture & Flavor is Powered by Simplecast.

On this episode, Zella talks to Charity Blanchett, an Indigenous Yup'ik and Black Award-Winning Non-Profit Founder and CEO, Public Speaker, and Social Impact Entrepreneur dedicated to empowering Indigenous youth and championing cultural identity. As the Founder and CEO of Dipping Spoon, a pioneering non-profit Hospitality Agency, Charity directs her efforts towards serving the luxury needs of Indigenous Youth, guided by principles of access, representation, and cultural identity. Under her leadership, Dipping Spoon envisions a global landscape where Indigenous youth confidently embrace their heritage, transcending institutional boundaries to excel as creative entrepreneurial culinary pioneers, blending Food, Science, Media, Design, and Public Policy into a harmonious force for change. A passionate advocate for preserving Native American food culture, Charity fervently emphasizes its significance in reflecting history, values, and stewardship of natural resources. Her speaking engagements resonate with audiences, shedding light on the profound impact of food culture on Native American communities.

Culture & Flavor is Powered by Simplecast.

On this episode of Culture & Flavor, Zella continues her conversation with Madame Barbara Trevigne to talk about the legacy of Marie Laveau, Voodoo Queen of New Orleans. Trevigne, a 7th Ward Native of New Orleans, shares her research about growing up Creole in New Orleans, New Orleans food, religous and death traditions, and the importance of Madame Marie Laveau.

Culture & Flavor is Powered by Simplecast.

On this episode of Culture & Flavor, Zella sits down with Mariama Diallo, Brooklyn-based renowned filmmaker, writer, and director. Her debut feature, Master, from Amazon Studios, was released in March 2022 after premiering in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the Sundance Film Festival. Previous works include the short films Hair Wolf (Sundance 2018) and White Devil (TIFF 2021), as well as HBO’s Random Acts of Flyness. She has been featured in Variety’s 10 Directors to Watch and Filmmaker magazine’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film.

Photo courtesy of Nechama Leitner.

Culture & Flavor is Powered by Simplecast.