Soul by Chef Todd Richards

We've got a special holiday treat for Soul listeners. This is one of 4 episodes we recorded earlier in the year. Together they cover a wide range of topics celebrating the rich history of Afro-Cuisine, and tell the story of this cuisine through the eyes of diverse food culture.

Atlanta native Chef Christan Willis started her culinary career at age 15 working in a fine dining restaurant. Since then she has drawn upon her African American, Southeast Asian, and Pacific Islander roots to craft fine cuisine which has propelled her to the status of celebrity chef. Beyond the several acclaimed restaurants she has worked with, she has also appeared on the Today Show, Cooks vs. Cons, Raid the Fridge, Hallmark Home and Family, HLN, and Netflix’s newly released show Pressure Cooker. 

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We've got a special holiday treat for Soul listeners. This is one of 4 episodes we recorded earlier in the year. Together they cover a wide range of topics celebrating the rich history of Afro-Cuisine, and tell the story of this cuisine through the eyes of diverse food culture.

Chef Stephan Durand has known food was his calling since High School, and has had passion for Haitian food, along with other Caribbean and Latin flavors, since even before then. He is the president and founder of the Haitian Cultural Alliance, and co-captain of Haiti’s National Culinary Team. He also has owned and operated his own food service, personal chef, and instructional business, Culinary by Design, since 2007. Recently, he has helped to produce Haiti’s Food & Spirits Festival: Gout et Saveurs Lakay. 

Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Soul by Chef Todd Richards by becoming a member!

Soul by Chef Todd Richards is Powered by Simplecast.

We've got a special holiday treat for Soul listeners. This is one of 4 episodes we recorded earlier in the year. Together they cover a wide range of topics celebrating the rich history of Afro-Cuisine, and tell the story of this cuisine through the eyes of diverse food culture.

In the past 15 years, photographer Clay Williams has documented everything from kitchens helmed by Michelin-starred chefs to the fields where the animals we eat graze. His images have transported us to Argentina, South Louisiana, Paris, the Bronx, and beyond. This year Clay photographed the food and stories of Chef Kwame Onwuachi and Ms. Emily Meggett.

Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Soul by Chef Todd Richards by becoming a member!

Soul by Chef Todd Richards is Powered by Simplecast.

We've got a special holiday treat for Soul listeners. This is one of 4 episodes we recorded earlier in the year. Together they cover a wide range of topics celebrating the rich history of Afro-Cuisine, and tell the story of this cuisine through the eyes of diverse food culture.

Chef Daryl Shular, CMC, has had a rich career in the culinary industry. He is the founder of Shular Hospitality Group, and owner of Shular Institue, PlateED Cooking School, and Farmed Kitchen + Bar in Georgia. 

Photo Courtesy of CMC Daryl Shular.

Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Soul by Chef Todd Richards by becoming a member!

Soul by Chef Todd Richards is Powered by Simplecast.

Chef Deborah VanTrece is known for her elevated Soul Food as an owner of Twisted Soul. Chef VanTrece's Cookbook, Twisted Soul, has garnished many awards and serves as an inspiration to novice cooks as well as Chefs from all backgrounds. In this episode, we talk about her history in food, her cookbook, as well as pathways for minorities into the food business.

Photo Courtesy of Chef VanTrece.

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Chef Kevin Mitchell of the Culinary Institute of Charleston in Charleston, SC, has professional interests that far exceed the confines of the kitchen. Disciplined and driven, he earned two degrees from the Culinary Institute of America and went on to hone his craft with hands-on experience at restaurants including Sun Dial in Atlanta, Seldom Blues Supper Club in Detroit, and the MGM Grand Detroit Hotel. In 2008, he joined the faculty in Charleston as its first African-American chef, where he still teaches. Beyond the classroom, throughout the years, he’s created special events that honor black culinary ancestors, been an SC Chef Ambassador, and now, along with Episode 65’s Dr. David Shields, has co-authored Taste the State: South Carolina's Signature Foods, Recipes, and Their Stories. At 51, Kevin is as passionate as ever about scholarship, inspiration for the next generation, and the perfect way to debone a fish.

Photo Courtesy of The Local Palate.

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Erika Council is a software engineer, writer/photographer, and biscuit-maker who runs the Bomb Biscuits pop-up in Atlanta and the Southern Soufflé website. I've known her for many years, and she actually provided the biscuit recipe for my book, Soul. I'm thrilled to have her on the show for our first Season finale!

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I am thrilled to have Adrian Miller on this week's show. Adrian is a scholar of African-American contributions to U.S. foodways. He is  the author of several books including Soul Food, won him a 2014 James Beard Foundation award, and The President's Kitchen Cabinet, for which he was nominated for the 2018 NAACP Image Award for outstanding literary work - nonfiction. He is also a self-proclaimed "recovering lawyer" and served as a White House advisor to US President Bill Clinton. 

I may be most excited to be talking about barbecue, because, as everyone knows, I just opened a barbecue restaurant with my partner, Josh Lee, and Adrian's writing a book on barbecue called "Black Smoke: African-American United States of Barbecue", which is to be released in April of 2021. 

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Shaun Chavis is a cookbook editor and the CEO of LVNGbook - a customizable cookbook to help people feel more confident about making healthy lifestyle changes, especially people with chronic illnesses. She has a bachelor’s degree in journalism, a culinary arts degree, and a master’s degree in gastronomy from Boston University. She currently resides in Atlanta, Georgia.

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Lawrence Weeks dedicated his heart to cooking as a child growing up in a Southern Creole/Cajun household in Louisville, KY. His professional career has spanned 10 years. After culinary school, Weeks seized the opportunity to work with award-winning chef Todd Richards at The Pig and The Pearl in Atlanta, where Richards encouraged Weeks to “find his roots in food.” 

After returning to Louisville, Weeks started LocalsOnly, a Louisville pop-up restaurant that focuses on local people, product, and food. The business quickly gained regional traction in the Louisville/Lexington area. Restaurateur Ouita Michel hired Weeks as a chef at Honeywood in 2019 and named him executive chef in October 2019. His recent work focuses on how using sustainably sourced seafood contributes to a healthier environment.

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