Thérèse Nelson

#ForTheCulture is a love letter to Black women in food. It offers a sampling of wisdom and vulnerability from a global cross-section of creatives who are every day adding their work to the ether, making space for themselves and you. It’s a book many readers will see themselves in and, more importantly, the diversity of Blackness through the unique prism of each woman’s point of view. It’s a book about Black women for Black women that also invites everyone to glean joy and wisdom from, and isn’t that what Blackness always does? This book will sit with modern books like #BlackFutures and #BlackFood, but also with timeless books like #ToniMosrrison’s #TheBlackBook to serve as an elegant snapshot of this moment in food presented with the kind of care and aesthetic dopeness that Black women are known for. That part makes sure that this time capsule holds up and makes women generations from now understand how flyy we were and experience us in our own words. I encourage you to get all the versions of this book. Cop the physical book from our sisters at @bembrooklyn so that you can fall more deeply in love with @george.mccalman for his gorgeous art direction that is the sensory palate that the insanely talented @hello.sola used to showcase her stunning illustrations that captured the soul of each subject immaculately and @sans.murs ’ stunning photography. You need the digital version to have these brilliant women with you wherever you are, arming you with spicy gems to drop in the event of an impromptu wisdom emergency. And you need the audio version because @klancycooks and the collective of Black actors who narrated these essays showed out and brought our words to life so expertly that you will feel the uniqueness in each woman’s prose as though you’re at the best dinner party ever (I see you @arie_originally @susehawk @janinaspeaksvolumes @karenmalinawhite @machelledw and #SisiAishaJohnson). I’m so honored to have my thoughts memorialized among so many matriarchs, colleagues, friends, and muses, and I hope that you give @klancycooks your monies and support this labor of love and get to know the beautiful Black food women in this book and beyond.

If you've been following me for any length of time you know how much Miss Lewis is embedded into the DNA of my work. She was not just an iconic chef and teacher but a full complicated beautiful human with a clear vision for and about Black foodways that lives on long after her passing. Edna Lewis was born today in 1916 in Freetown, Virginia, a community established by emancipated slaves, including Ms. Lewis’s grandparents. After a life spent learning to live with and off the land, growing, preserving, and preparing Southern ingredients Ms. Lewis moved to New York City, where she worked several jobs before becoming the chef at Café Nicholson. From her extraordinary culinary life as a chef to her three cookbooks, her intimate knowledge of Southern ingredients and cuisine provide invaluable knowledge that continues to inspire and educate. I hope that today people grab one of her books and really hear what she had to say. Fully receive the words of affirmation she bequeathed us that asked us to love and steward our culture as an heirloom, worthy of preservation. I'm sharing this video because it's not often that we got to hear from Miss Lewis in her own voice. She was a working chef and a private person so the available footage of her is limited, but it's always striking to me how to resonate her words continue to be. This footage is from an event called Taste of Heritage that Chef Joe Randall produced back in the '90s. This particular year featured both Edna Lewis and Leah Chase and if you check out my YouTube channel one of the playlists has the longer video which features an adorable section of b roll footage of the two of them laughing and talking together in a quiet moment. One thing to consider today is going over to follow, donate to, and learn more about the @ednalewisfoundation . It's a wonderful organization led by @mashamabailey that's core mission is to advocate for the Southern tradition of the original farm-to-table lifestyle, eating with the seasons, a sense of community, and the satisfactory feeling that hard work is always rewarded by good food. #EdnaLewis #donate #GrandeDame #SouthernCooking #SouthernFood #BlackCulinaryHistory

New site Alert!! . It's been a long time coming but BlackCulinaryHistory.com has a brand new look thanks to the brilliant design work of Vonnie Williams (@sincerelyvonnie ) and Kwasi Amankona. . I love the fresh new layout and all the exciting changes like updating the majority of the books in the library section to link to independent black-owned bookseller @44thandt3rdbookseller , adding a whole new resources section complete with advice from experts and resources for writers, and links to the cultural institutions and organizations I'm in community with and look to for wisdom. . If you haven't visited the site in a while please check it out and let me know what you think, and if you're a regular visitor please let me know how you like the new layout and features. . Working with Vonnie and Kwasi was a joy and they made the process a breeze so if you are looking to have some design work done please reach out to them here or on their links at the foot of the website.

This week over on substack, in honor of the 50th anniversary of The Taste of Country Cooking, I wrote about the legacy of Miss Lewis as a beloved culinary figure and the complicated, often troubling, project of collective reverence. Shout out to @aaknopf for keeping her books alive, the @ednalewisfoundation for continued stewardship, and @bembrooklyn for the beautiful festival they're hosting this week in honor of Miss Lewis. Check BEM out on their page for ticketing information and the full schedule of events. #BlackCulinaryHistory #TasteOfCountryCooking #EdnaLewis

One thing about having two dope chefs as co-founders is that they see Food as so much more then something we simply consume. @kindkitchengroup is all about culinary education fortified in #socialemotionallearning. So, shout out to our crew @its_ms_bowman and @ssprenzphoto @blackculinary on #NationalSELDay for doing the soul work. Over here we build good cooks by supporting great humans 📸 @ssprenzphoto

Chef Joe Randall July 23, 1946 – February 14, 2026 There was a generation between Chef Joe and me. I didn’t come up under him in the traditional way, like the legion of men he mentored almost as a culinary fraternity. He had already cleared professional ground for two generations of chefs, and I arrived trying to understand what it meant to stand on it. I first met him in 2009 at A Night on the Hill. I walked into the kitchen nervous, knowing onky his storied reputation. That feeling didn’t last. He was standing beside a young Black girl, maybe sixteen or seventeen, gently teaching her how to shape shrimp mousseline into croquettes. He wasn’t rushed. He wasn’t performing. He was present. That was when I understood Chef Joe was more than his résumé. He was a steward. Over time, he became something closer to a culinary grandfather. Someone I returned to when my work needed grounding, when history needed clarification, when conversations around Black foodways felt unmoored. He didn’t give instructions. He offered context, and it always felt urgent. Chef Joe founded the Taste of Heritage Foundation, inspiring generations of chefs to cook for one another and fund the future through food. That work inspired Culinary Wonders USA and later led him to found the Edna Lewis Foundation, continuing his lifelong commitment to safeguarding Black culinary history. People often describe a visit to his cooking school in Savannah as a culinary pilgrimage. That feels right. When you sat at his table, you didn’t just eat well. You were given context. You were fed history. You left changed Chef Joe Randall fed us, body and soul. The work now is to honor him by holding the line.

Hi there. I know its been a while, but I'm thrilled to be re-emerging and refocusing on Black Culinary History after a brief hiatus. As I reignite my passion for this project, I'm eager to share all the hard earned research i've done over the last 18 years, and finally make meaningful progress on my book. To facilitate this, I've launched a Substack that will go live on February 1st. This platform will feature a diverse array of content, including in-depth interviews, annotated literary reviews, and essays, as well as profiles of innovative chefs. I'm deeply grateful to those of you who have been part of this journey since its inception on Ning, and all the iterations over the years. I appreciate the nurturing community you've provided over the past two decades. I invite you to join me on this new chapter, engage with my ideas, and continue to help shape this project through your thoughtful stories, feedback, and insights. I look forward to hearing from you. Thérèse #BlackCulinaryHistory

I'm thrilled to join the inaugural Culinary Creatives Awards judging panel, brought to you by the team behind @eatokratheapp and @culinarycreativesconf . The Culinary Creatives Awards provide an opportunity for our community to help amplify and celebrate Black chefs, creators, and entrepreneurs who are pushing boundaries in food and beverage. The nominations are open until July 6th, so if you are, or know of, someone who deserves recognition for outstanding work in storytelling, innovation, or advocacy, along with legendary figures you want to see recognized or new voices needing encouragement at an early stage, please visit eatokra.com for more details and to submit a nomination. *Self-nomination is encouraged, and you can certainly nominate multiple people.

If you're in the San Francisco/Oakland area, please consider checking out the always joyful Chef Wanda Blake (@wandas_cooking ) as she shares the Black culinary history of her hometown with the @sanleandrolib on February 18, 2025.

🎄 Deck the shelves with books they’ll love! 🎄 We’re thrilled to bring BEM to the inaugural @platformbyjbf Artisan Holiday Market this season! 📍Join us on Sunday, December 15, 12-4 PM to shop BEM in person and find unique gifts for every book lover on your list—from cookbooks to fiction, nonfiction, and children’s titles, we’ve got something for everyone. 📚 At 2:30 PM, join Dr. Jessica B. Harris (@africooks ) in conversation with chef, writer and steward of BlackCulinaryHistory.com, Thérèse Nelson (@blackculinary ), to explore the refreshed edition of A Kwanzaa Keepsake and Cookbook. Stick around for a signing of A Kwanzaa Keepsake and High On The Hog—both perfect for holiday gifting! ☕ Warm beverages, treats, door prizes, and more await from BEM and the other vendors in this stellar lineup. Admission is free, so bring your friends and family for a festive afternoon of books, food, and celebration. Click the link in our bio to RSVP! #GoodFoodForGood #BlackCulinaryHistory #AKwanzaaKeepsake