Tucked in between the massive ESSENCE Stage and across from the colorful AfroPunk space at this year’s ESSENCE Festival of Culture sat the Food and Wine activation. Covered in splashes of orange and green, this year’s space offered more than just grub to eat on the exterior and drinks to sip on inside. It was a space that also offered education, great conversation, and a chance to watch some of the biggest names in the culinary industry and the foodie space take the stage.
The Food and Wine space was much bigger than what had been created for the 2023 ESSENCE Festival of Culture. In place of last year’s small stage in a corner was an elevated stage, a room to hold guest speakers, two bars to distribute libations, and plenty of seating. That included couches and cozy armchairs, long bar tables, as well as high boy tables that offered a place to charge your phone while you enjoyed your surroundings.
We brought back demos. That included a cooking demonstration with Justin Coleman of Philadelphia’s popular Bake’n Bacon, who made a bacon caramel sauce; New Orleans chef Ashley Jonique created a vegan po’boy with trumpet mushrooms; There was a demo that showed people how to make meals with the essentials in their kitchen to avoid food waste (featuring chef Lenora Chong of Morrows fame, and chef J’Kwan Fulmore); and there were demos with Cornbread Soul founder Adenah Bayoh and one where bartenders specializing in mocktails made zero-proof drinks.
The conversations were also delicious too, even though they didn’t require panelists to make any meals or create any drinks. But we learned the benefits of growing your own foods during a Freedom in Farming panel hosted by Keshia Knight Pulliam. We heard from some of the top chefs in African fare, including Serigne Mbaye of Dakar Nola and Chef Eros of LA’s Ilé, on the ways in which food from the continent is going global.
Experts, including Samara Rivers of the Black Bourbon Society, discussed the best ways to get into whiskey (and the difference between it and bourbon). And singer Mya had a heartfelt chat with health guru Queen Afua about the joys of vegan living.
But if that wasn’t enough, in the back of the Food and Wine space was an impressive installation that offered guests a timeline of Black food history, showcasing the accomplishments of everyone from James Hemings and NOLA’s own legendary chef, Leah Chase.
There were also QR codes to help guests learn more about the food vendors selling fare right outside of the event space, and actual recipes pulled straight from the magazine’s archives that they could take home and cook with.
ESSENCE Fest’s Food and Wine activation could have simply been that: A space to taste test and come and go. However, what was offered was an immaculate opportunity to sip well, eat good, and most importantly, learn: new recipes, new ways to prevent food waste and cope with inflation, to better enjoy wine and not be intimidated by whiskey, how to give new flavors a try, and of course, to show appreciation for the staples of Black food culture. We love our food. We love us.