June & Angie Provost | The Legacy of Black Farmers

Megan Braden-Perry is a published author, award-winning freelance journalist, public speaker, photographer and multigenerational New Orleans native. Her books include Crescent City Snow: The Ultimate Guide to New Orleans Snowball Stands (UL Press, 2017) and Allen the Alligator Counts Through New Orleans: A New Orleans Kids’ Counting Book (2014). In 2019, she was awarded the Jack Jones Literary Arts retreat Roxane Gay fellowship in prose, for her upcoming novel Greener Grass, Different Drummer. She’s on the board of 826 New Orleans and is a very proud product of Orleans Parish Public Schools (McDonogh 39, Lusher, Ben Franklin and McDonogh 35) and of HBCUs (Dillard University and Southern University). She’s also a graduate of Urban League of Louisiana’s ULEAD, Urban Leaders for Equity and Diversity, and she’s taught elementary through high school at New Orleans charter schools. On this episode of Culture & Flavor, Zella and Megan talk about the lack of authenticity in Food Media and how the South is working towards equitable representation.
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Angie and June Provost are farmer-activists residing in New Iberia, LA. They are the creators of the Provost Initiative, a venture that encompasses a for-profit farm named Provost Farm LLC and a non-nonprofit organization called the Provost Farm Heritage Center and Community Garden, Inc. Their mission is to educate and empower the next generation of farmers and farm workers, while promoting diversity and inclusion in agriculture. Zella talks with June & Angie Provost about their legacy as Louisiana Black sugarcane farmers and their fight to preserve their legacy and culture.

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A serendipitous encounter with some New Orleanians brought Chef Serigne Mbaye to the Crescent City. Serigne was born in the United States, but raised and educated largely in Senegal. A love for cooking led him to New England Culinary Institute where he graduated at the top of his class in 2016. Though he started as a line cook, he rose to the level of sous chef at Commander's Palace and was the sous chef at Café Adelaide before its closing. He left New Orleans to hone his skills at Atelier Crenn, a 3-Michelin Star restaurant in San Francisco, and at L’Atelier Joel Robuchon, a 2-Michelin Star restaurant in New York. In 2018 he was awarded the Paul McIlhenny Culinary Scholarship at the Southern Food and Beverage Museum, where he held regular pop-up dinners exploring the connections between the foods of Louisiana and Senegal. Serigne has evolved his pop up series into Dakar Nola, a modern Senegalese pop up restaurant. With a focus on highlighting the bounty of local ingredients Serigne has had the pleasure of collaborating with farmers and chefs throughout Southeast Louisiana. Serigne Mbaye is the co-owner and Chef of Dakar Nola in New Orleans, Louisiana. Chef Serigne Mbaye was voted 2021 Nola Eater Chef of the Year and was honored as a finalist in the 2022 & 2023 James Beard Foundation Award in the Emerging Chef category. This episode of Culture & Flavor Zella and Chef Serigne Mbaye talk about his journey to opening Dakar Nola and how he remains humble and focused in a chef celebrity culture.

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Joseph Baba Ifa is a Babalawo in the Yoruba Lucumi spiritual traditions of Cuba with over 20 years of experience in the Ifa and Orisha culture! Born in Hialeah, an area of Miami, FIorida many consider to be the capital of Ifa and Orisha practice in the United States, Baba was exposed to Ifa at a very young age. Through countless experiences that span over two decades, Baba has been able to identify key topics that help those with interest on their lfa journey. The desire to guide others is what motivated the creation of Our Roots podcast, a weekly podcast channel hosted by Joseph Baba Ifa with the goal to provide credible information. On this episode of Culture & Flavor, Zella and Joseph Baba Ifa discuss the integral role of food with the Orishas and Ifa practices from Cuba, Brazil, Nigeria, the Caribbean and the United States. The podcast interview will also be broadcasted on Joseph Baba Ifa's "Our Roots" Podcast.

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Chipo Kandake is a Dancer, Griot, Musicologist and Filmmaker who studies dance movement as it relates to social life and culture throughout the Afro- diaspora. (Bachata of Haiti, Bellydance of Nubia, Cumbia of Mexico and Second line of New Orleans) After receiving her BA at Dillard University (New Orleans, LA) in Filmmaking, Kandake continued her research abroad (Dominican Republic, Cuba, Mexico and Egypt) studying the landscape of dance and its connection to culture, community, and spirituality. With her people hailing from Louisiana, "in the country," Kandake grew up on Zydeco music and came into bounce and second-line later in life. Her research covers connections that root back to the Southern, United States, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Chipo hopes to unify Black Americans looking to connect back to the diaspora. Currently, Kandake is filming a pilot series that bridges the dance traditions of Louisiana and Central America. She teaches "Shake with Chipo" sacral chakra dance sessions and curates "Femme Funk" as an online platform and event series. On this episode of Culture & Flavor, Zella talks with Chipo Kandake about her global journey.

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Angela Locklear Queen is the author of Native American Herbal Medicine for Beginners. Angela has been decolonizing wellness/herbalism spaces for almost 20 years. Today she uses her extensive knowledge in herbalism and nutrition as a marketing professional supporting conscious and ethical brands that choose to avoid appropriation and make a difference in the world. Additionally, she nurtures an herbal tea brand called Elemental Herbal Teas. Angela is a member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina and has always felt a strong connection to the southern landscape. Angela wrote her first book, in 2022 to provide a foundation of herbal knowledge through the lens of Native American culture. Her book features multiple plants native to Turtle Island, and 75 unique recipes to help you build your own herbal apothecary. On today's episode Zella and Angela talk about the role of healers in Native American culture and essential herbs and teas that you need to know.

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On this episode I am thrilled to welcome my dear friend Prince Lobo to the show. At 25 years old, he is one of the youngest award-winning small business owner chefs and winemakers in New Orleans. Prince serves as the General Manager of Addis NOLA, a highly rated and recognized Ethiopian restaurant founded by his mother and his father and he is the creator of their specialty Honey Wine.

Today we'll hear his family's story of coming to the United States, plus we discuss what's so special about Bayou Road in New Orleans, what has moved him most in his travels to Ethiopia, and so much more. 

Photo Courtesy of Kat Kimball

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Joëlle Dussek (pronouns: Lï pronounced 'Lee' in Haitian Kreyol, All the pronouns in any colonizer language) is a hybrid of many ancestral markers, geographical locations, skills, and careers. Being both Haitian & African American ascendant person who hails from two illustrious cities, New York and New Orleans. Joëlle’s working background has been in entertainment for over 20 years, and is accredited on multiple award winning shows like Food Network's “Chopped” and 2017 #1 iTunes podcast “Empire on Blood”. In 2018 Joëlle took a pivot from media to understand psychology - receiving a Masters degree from the California Institute of Integral Studies in 2021 in Somatic psychology - lï figured out how to sit in the medium of Media and Psyche, once again flexing lï’s hybrid nature. Currently, Joëlle is the programs manager for the Black Emotional & Mental Health Collective otherwise known as BEAM. Enjoying leading the organization's logistics in training & programs nationwide. While being a Jack & Jill of many trades and a Master of many - Joëlle enjoys being a casual force of nature in the background helping ALL African folks throughout the diaspora synthesizing our wisdoms via artistry, media, psychology, regenerative wealth and health. On today's episode Zella and Joëlle talk about her experience as a media producer for the Food Network and her Haitian and African American heritage.

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From a young age Nico had a head in the cupboard and an eye over the shoulder of his grandmother learning about the depth of flavour and the variety of spice in Caribbean cooking and soul food. Bringing this knowledge to Latin America, he ran a catered event company and a small restaurant in Buenos Aires for 6 years. Combing the depth of the flavours & aromas from the Caribbean with south American zests, the menus began to take more influences from Peru, Colombia, Argentina and Mexico. Caribbean cooking with Latin influences via Ireland.  Since then he makes regular appearances on Irish TV in cooking segments like RTEs "Today Show" and Virgin medias "Ireland AM" and was in house chef for the TV programme "Lodging with Lucy" Along with Articles published in the Sunday Times and Independent and award winning recipes. On today's episode Zella and Nico talk about Nico's journey in food rooted in his Irish and Jamaican heritage.

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Lino Yerima Asana is a Cameroonian American filmmaker currently living in New Orleans. His films often explore and celebrate themes of black dynamism, identity, and transnationalism. Some of his films and videos have been featured by Okay Africa, Bitter Southerner, Nowness, and Indiewire and screened at several film festivals. In addition to developing his first feature film, "The Parking Lot Attendant" (An SFFILM Rainin 2022 Screenwriting Grant Finalist), Asana is currently in post-production on a documentary that intimately explores the contribution of black chefs and humble cooks in the New Orleans food industry. Today on Culture & Flavor, Zella and Lino talk about his latest documentary in production that looks at the legacy of the 1978 Creole Feast Cookbook written by Dr. Rudy Joseph Lombard and Chef Nathaniel Burton.

Photographer Josh Farria.

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