Afros and Knives Podcast
Wild Cabbage Productions - Hot Fish Grease Audio Studios
1 Creator
1 Creator
Afros and Knives—an award-winning interview series featuring Black women working and leading in food and beverage, food media, food science + technology, food education,ood justice, agriculture, and hospitality.
2 Listeners
All episodes
Best episodes
Seasons
Top 10 Afros and Knives Podcast Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Afros and Knives Podcast episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Afros and Knives Podcast for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Afros and Knives Podcast episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
Bringing everyone to the table with Chef Adrienne Cheatham
Afros and Knives Podcast
05/23/22 • 39 min
In this bonus episode of the Afros and Knives podcast in collaboration with For the Culture Magazine, host Tiffani Rozier chats with Chef Adrienne Cheatham about her new cookbook, Sunday Best. The full interview is available to the For the Culture patreon community--to hear every moment of this interview and to get access to the transcript head over to www.patreon.com/FortheCultureMagazine
Chef Adrienne grew up in the kitchens and dining rooms of restaurants her mother managed in Chicago, Illinois. She would help with busing tables, running food, washing dishes, and whatever was needed, after homework was finished. At her parents’ insistence, she went to college before pursuing her culinary ambitions, attending Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, Florida, where she studied business and journalism.
Adrienne went on to work with Marcus Samuelsson as the Chef de Cuisine of the Marcus Samuelsson Group, opening Streetbird, where she received a Bib Gourmand from the Michelin Guide, and Marcus’ Bermuda before being promoted to Executive Chef at Red Rooster. Adrienne has also traveled extensively with Chef Marcus for demonstrations, appearances, and festivals. Adrienne curated special tasting menus, including the Black History Month menu at Red Rooster, a multi-course menu inspired by female African-American chefs in the industry. When planning the Red Rooster Cookbook, Marcus tapped Adrienne to test and edit the recipes as well as cook/style all food that was photographed for the book.
Adrienne competed on season 15 of Top Chef, making it all the way to the finale and finishing second. She has been featured as a speaker at Cherry Bombe Magazine’s annual Jubilee festival and was the subject of a New York Times documentary series titled “Tastemakers.” Passionate about nutrition, she works with Schwan’s as part of the Chef’s Collective to develop healthy food for school lunch programs. Adrienne has appeared in Food & Wine, US Weekly, Sports Illustrated online, People, Grubstreet, Eater, AM New York, among others. Adrienne shares a home in Harlem with her best friend and husband, Stephen Bailey. She is also the founder of SundayBest, a pop-up series held in secret locations around Harlem.
Get full access to Afros and Knives at afrosandknives.substack.com/subscribe
2 Listeners
Setting the Table with Amber Mayfield, founder of While Entertaining
Afros and Knives Podcast
02/03/22 • 87 min
Founder of bespoke event brand To Be Hosted and independent lifestyle magazine While Entertaining, Amber Mayfield. Amber is a consummate tastemaker and is shaping how Black folks celebrate and entertain now and in the future. To Be Hosted has produced events and experiences for brands like Equinox, Facebook, Nestle, Netflix, Bumble, Tinder, Patron Tequila, Bulleit Bourbon, Bain & Company, and more. To learn more, check out www.tobehosted.com. Founded in March 2020, While Entertaining Magazine is a yearly magazine that highlights Black food and beverage experts, and provides resources for people cooking and gathering at home.
Amber began her work when she was twenty-three years old. She had worked in television as a corporate assistant and noticed is that events and productions utilized the same resources—caterers, lighting technicians, designers, and artists, and none of them looked like her. What started as a self-funded side hustle grew into creating custom events that used the talents of Black creatives and Black professionals— her gorgeous work offered an intimate and safe experience for Black people to dine.
“I'm sure all of us, especially in New York, has no shortage of stories, of feeling comfortable in certain spaces and not feeling like that fine dining experience of that luxury experience or whatever, wherever you want to go and feel like somebody is specifically catering to and thinking about you.”
---
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/afrosandknivespod/message
Get full access to Afros and Knives at afrosandknives.substack.com/subscribe
1 Listener
Making History Through Rum with Joy Spence
Afros and Knives Podcast
01/07/22 • 52 min
Joy Spence was the first female master blender in the entire spirits industry and today, 40 years later, she is still creating exceptional rum. Joy’s journey into the world of spirits began with a passion for chemistry in high school and a teacher who helped her to reach her full potential. Her intellect, combined with her endearing and tenacious personality, makes her an unstoppable force. According to Joy, the main element that sets Jamaican rum apart is that when you drink it you can feel the spirit of the country; and Joy herself oozes that spirit too. Not only is Joy a world-class blender, but she also dedicates a lot of her time to helping other young women discover their passions and follow their dreams. Joy has so much fascinating knowledge to share, and by the end of this episode, you’ll know if you have what it takes to be a master blender and the proper way to drink rum!
Appleton Estate’s Master Blender, Joy Spence, has the honour of being the first woman to hold the position of Master Blender in the spirits industry. In this role, Joy is responsible for ensuring the quality and consistency of existing blends, creating new rum blends, and monitoring the company’s inventory of aging rum stocks. Simply put, it is Joy’s job to ensure that that all Appleton Estate rum blends meet the high standards that consumers have grown to love and expect. Joy joined Appleton Estate as Chief Chemist in 1981 where her passion for the art of creating rum-blends was inspired by her predecessor and mentor at the company, then Master Blender, Owen Tulloch. When Owen retired Joy was appointed the Master Blender in 1997.
Key Points From This Episode:
• This year is Joy’s 40th anniversary at Appleton Estate Rum as their master blender.
• Joy’s upbringing in Jamaica, as an adopted child.
• The woman who fostered Joy’s love for chemistry, and her devastating death.
• Joy’s education and professional background, leading up to her current role.
• Paths that Joy’s children have taken career-wise.
• Skills that are vital for the work that Joy does.
• How the heat in Jamaica impacts the rum being produced there.
• The huge difference between standard rum and premium aged rum.
• What makes Jamaican rum unique.
• Admirable work that Joy is doing to help others.
• Advice for anyone out there who is hoping to pursue a career as a master blender.
• The new, very limited, collections that Joy has been working on, one of which sold out within two hours when it was released in Europe!
• What the Joy Spence Appleton Estate Rum Experience entails.
• How Joy likes to drink rum, what specific rums should be paired with, and an explanation of how to make Joy’s Cocktail.
--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/afrosandknivespod/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/afrosandknivespod/support1 Listener
Sharing African American History Through Hospitality with Kristin Kitchen
Afros and Knives Podcast
01/07/22 • 55 min
Key Points From This Episode:
• Kristin and her history with the Six Acres property where she runs her B&B.
• How the history of the Six Acres property informs Kristin’s approach to hosting guests.
• Kristin’s thoughts on her commitment to sourcing products by Black-owned businesses.
• How Kristin weaves Black histories tied to the locations of her restaurants into her design choices and the guest experience.
• How Kristin’s business choices tie into the growing heritage tourism movement.
• Questioning norms and Kristin’s thoughts on Blackness being branded in negative ways.
• Perspectives on luxury and a story about a travel writer who appreciated her experience at Six Acres.
• How the pandemic is challenging us to find new ways of inhabiting our spaces.
• The role of Kristin’s team in building her brand and how a common value system drives them.
• Thoughts on telling Black stories and excitement for what is in store for Sojourn.
Today’s guest is Kristin Kitchen, Founder, and CEO of Sojourn Heritage Accommodations, talking about how she is using hospitality to share African American history and inspired community building. Sojourn is a heritage tourism brand where luxury meets history, with a vision to share the rich past of African Americans across the country through art, jazz, wine, and food in a uniquely diverse hospitality setting.
The first property Kristin acquired is now the Six Acres Bed & Breakfast, a house in the Underground Railroad Network, which she converted into very successful hospitality business in Cincinnati, Ohio. This was the first in Kristin’s brand of boutique hotels that blend the intimacy of a bed and breakfast with the amenities of a first-class hotel. Our conversation begins with the story of how Kristin found the Six Acres property and decided to convert it into a bed and breakfast that incorporated the rich history of its context into the guest experience.
We talk about Kristin’s decision to support Black-owned businesses through the products she sources and then dive into the importance of keeping African American history alive in the present. Our conversation explores the importance of defining luxury for ourselves and how this connects to the experience of basking in the beauty of our shared culture. We speak to Kristin about the importance of her team, the intersection of her business plan with the heritage tourism movement, and what is in store for the different locations that she currently has under operation.
--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/afrosandknivespod/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/afrosandknivespod/support1 Listener
How Victoria Butler is Making History as the First Black Woman to Work as a Bourbon Master Blender
Afros and Knives Podcast
04/25/22 • 23 min
Victoria Butler might be the first Black woman to work as a bourbon master blender, but her story begins long before she officially began her career in the industry. In fact, Butler's family tree reveals how her ancestry plays an instrumental role in the distilling industry, most notably her great, great grandfather Nearest Green, who was the genius mind behind Jack Daniels, one of the oldest American whiskeys on the market.
Photo credit: Eric Ryan Anderson
Get full access to Afros and Knives at afrosandknives.substack.com/subscribe
1 Listener
Staying hungry and writing brilliantly with Korsha Wilson
Afros and Knives Podcast
01/07/22 • 67 min
Korsha Wilson is a brilliant food writer and the host of A Hungry Society podcast on Heritage Radio Network. She examines and illuminates the world of restaurants, food, culture, and how what we eat speaks to the conditions of our society.
She is a graduate of The Culinary Institute of America and spent two years in journalism school at Emerson College She has written for many publications including The New York Times, Saveur, Food & Wine, the New Yorker, The Boston Globe, Boston Magazine, Eater, Civil Eats, Thrillist and more. She was named a Southern Foodways Alliance Smith fellow, was a participant of the Jack Jones Literary Arts’ inaugural #Culture, Too fellowship in 2019.
In 2020, her essay on restaurant criticism was included in "Best American Food Writing", an anthology edited by J.Kenji Lopez-Alt and Silvia Killingsworth. Her weekly podcast A Hungry Society on Heritage Radio Network highlights diverse voices in the food world.
--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/afrosandknivespod/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/afrosandknivespod/support1 Listener
Harvesting grapes and gratitude with Nicole Kearney
Afros and Knives Podcast
01/07/22 • 51 min
“My serious relationship with wine began in 2008, when I attended graduate school for my Master in Fine Arts (MFA) at Spalding University, Low Residency MFA program, in Louisville, Kentucky. Surrounded by writers of all genres – playwrights, screenwriters, fiction, non-fiction, and poets – we discussed our lives, our work, and our craft over drinks. Wine, to be specific. Each subsequent residency we would bring wines to introduce to each other. It was there my passion for wine was ignited. I shared what I learned with others; helping many a wine drinker find their way from, “I only drink…” to, “Wow, this wine is delicious.” This always gave me great pleasure. In 2011, my good friend Mark gifted me a 32 bottle wine refrigerator as a housewarming gift. Of course, I had to fill it! I had a party asking people to bring wine. I gave them some parameters (I drank red almost exclusively at that time) and sent my friends on a wine hunt around town. It was an incredible success. My guests got to try different wines and my wine chest was magically filled. Little did I know, I had just hosted my first home wine tasting.
In 2015, my interest in doing home wine tastings was refueled after several incidents occurred at corporate wine tastings – my name not being on the attendee list, my guests almost being turned away, being seated in the back, and sushed continuously despite my wine tribe purchasing wine. The spark was ignited, a dream set in motion. Sip & Share Wine started and still continues to do home wine tastings pouring African American and women winemakers into the intimacy of your home. We bring a fun experience, wine education, and build awareness about African American wines/winemakers.
1 Listener
Producing an Olive Oil Legacy with Skyler Mapes
Afros and Knives Podcast
01/07/22 • 82 min
Olive oil goes beyond the brand you find on the shelf. It’s about where it comes from, what it tastes like, and the passion that’s gone into producing it. Very few people have actually tasted ‘the good stuff, “and it’s only once you’ve tried it that you can truly understand what olive oil can offer. Today, we sit down with Skyler Mapes, an American architect who reinvented herself halfway across the world to produce an ancient delicacy. Skyler currently resides on a 300-year-old farm in Calabria, Italy, with her husband Guiseppe. In our conversation, we find out from Skyler about her transition into the world of olive oil, as she tells us about the serendipitous events which led her to Italy. She touches on how she came to be involved with Guiseppe’s family farm, and the ethos that comes with farming olives and other foods in Italy. As we dive deeper into the topic, Skyler notes how she strives to set her brand apart from the rest, and details her approach to branding and appealing to a cross-generational market. We then come back to the topic of production, with Skyler sharing the journey an olive takes to become extra virgin oil. We learn about the process and testing, and why her work is so labor-intensive. Toward the end of the show, Skyler talks about the finished product and describes how you can perform your own olive oil tasting; the proper way. For more on Skyler’s inspiring story, how to identify great olive oil, and much more, be sure to tune in with us today.
Take-Aways From This Episode:
- Skyler shares her olive oil origin story, and why producing at scale was never part of her plan.
- Hear how an architecture internship introduced Skyler to her husband, Guiseppe.
- Skyler tells us what she enjoyed and disliked about the architecture industry.
- The factors that led Skyler to leave the architecture industry.
- Skyler shares why it is so important to have diversity within the same industry.
- Why limiting people’s choices stops their ability to be discerning about what they are eating.
- How the Italian government embraces farming through favorable tax regulations.
- Skyler shares her olive farm’s rich family history and how they’re positioned in the olive oil market today.
- We hear the stark reality of Italy’s poverty and third-world traits.
- Skyler touches on her goal to create a luxury brand that appeals to all generations.
- We talk to Skyler about the varieties of olive oil produced on her farm.
- Skyler gives insider detail on the production of olive oil, contrasting farmers and producers.
- Find out what a day’s work is like on Skyler and Guiseppe’s olive farm.
- Find out how you can start consuming healthier, better olive oil.
1 Listener
Preserving Food Culture, With Authenticity with Kiano Moju
Afros and Knives Podcast
01/07/22 • 74 min
We are at risk of losing so much rich culinary heritage if we don’t start documenting it properly, so Kiano Moju, our guest on today’s show, is on a mission to do just that. Through her company, Jikoni, Kiano and her team have created a space for people to become active participants in the telling of their food-related stories. Kiano talks about the vision she has, and the way she hopes it will revolutionize the way people think about food from cultures other than their own. Kiano’s love for food began on her grandparents’ farm in Kenya it was the place where she had her first major realization about the importance of preserving traditions linked to food. We talk about some of the biggest names in the food world, and why you should not be trying to emulate them; too many creatives get trapped in “the machine” which may lead to more views and more followers, but at what cost? We also get Kiano’s perspective on risk-taking, the lack of diversity behind the scenes of much of the content that we consume, and why promoting brands without their consent can do more harm than good.
Episode Takeaways
• The evolution of Kiano’s career in the culinary space.
• Kiano explains what she is hoping to achieve through her company, Jikoni.
• Time Kiano spent in Kenya and how this sparked her love for everything to do with food.
• A hugely important realization that Kiano had when she filmed her uncle’s wedding in Kenya.
• Recipe keeping; changes that have occurred in this practice over time.
• How Kiano is intending to grow Jikoni.
• A note on writing headnotes for recipes.
• The issue of food access.
• What the food media industry should learn from the music industry.
• Problematic trends that Kiano is seeing in the food media space.
• Working in “the machine”; what this means, and why we need to get out of it.
• Experiences of black business owners when their companies are promoted without their consent.
• The importance of retaining your authenticity, whatever creative industry you work in.
• Higher risks lead to higher rewards; many people seem to have forgotten this.
• Media companies’ tendency to “other” certain types of food, and how Kiano is working to change this narrative.
• What is going on behind the content we see on our screens in terms of diversity, or a lack thereof.
1 Listener
Ep 48: Christilisa Gilmore
Afros and Knives Podcast
07/12/21 • 41 min
All of Christilisa’s jobs and skills lead her to help people craft the best dang cookbook with the best stories and recipes anyone can write.
The Cookbook of You Project is available for presale. It officially starts on May 15th, 2021. This project guides people through 12 themes and teaches them to write a cookbook in a year. More details can be found at project.christilisa.co
1 Listener
Show more best episodes
Show more best episodes
FAQ
How many episodes does Afros and Knives Podcast have?
Afros and Knives Podcast currently has 107 episodes available.
What topics does Afros and Knives Podcast cover?
The podcast is about Places & Travel, Society & Culture, Documentary and Podcasts.
What is the most popular episode on Afros and Knives Podcast?
The episode title 'Bringing everyone to the table with Chef Adrienne Cheatham' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on Afros and Knives Podcast?
The average episode length on Afros and Knives Podcast is 59 minutes.
How often are episodes of Afros and Knives Podcast released?
Episodes of Afros and Knives Podcast are typically released every 3 days, 19 hours.
When was the first episode of Afros and Knives Podcast?
The first episode of Afros and Knives Podcast was released on Jun 3, 2019.
Show more FAQ
Show more FAQ