What an incredible moment! Writing this blog post has taken me a minute because I just wanted to take it all in.
On June 8, I walked on the stage to receive the Emerging Voice in Journalism Award from the James Beard Foundation. Each year, this award goes to an individual, publication, or organization that is three years old or less and is making an immediate impact and lasting significance in food journalism. At the time, GFDI is just at the 3-year mark.
Last year, the award went to another Bay Area powerhouse, Illyanna Maisonet, for her book,”Diasporican,” which documents her family’s Puerto Rican recipes, so it is such an honor that The Global Food and Drink Initiative follows right behind her.
Surprise, You’ve Won a James Beard Award!
For the past three years, I have had the honor of being a category judge for the James Beard Awards, with only a mere thought that perhaps one day we would win one for our journalism that passionately shares the past and present stories of our ancestors and our food culture and history.
May 6 was just another Monday as I worked on my day-to-day tasks, including editing, taking meetings, and planning for the week. I was on a phone call when I missed another call from an unknown number, so I didn’t think much of it.
Afterward, I listened to the message that said, “We have some exciting news to share with you all.” I thought, “Huh?”
I immediately called Samantha back, who informed me that The Global Food and. Drink Initiative is this year’s recipient of the Emerging Voice in Journalism Award. “Wait, what?” I was in disbelief, not because I didn’t think we deserved it, but to have your work recognized by your peers and know that your name was in a room where such an amazing decision was being made was incredibly humbling.
From then on, it would mum the word, but of course, I would share the news with my biggest support team, my family.
Hard Work, Unwavering Committed to Black Stories
Walking across the stage in Chicago in June was a moment that I could not have envisioned. My award was the last one of the evening, and because there were no nominees, no one knew we were even being considered.
Watch the full media award ceremony on YouTube.
To hear and see our name on that screen comforted me as I think of all the years of people asking me if I really wanted to just write about Black chefs, hearing no after no from advertisers, and just at times feeling we weren’t doing enough or making enough progress.
During my speech, I mentioned that I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for the original vision of Chef Richard Pannell, the founder of Cuisine Noir, who sadly lost his life to cancer this past February. This award is as much his as it is ours as he knew way back in 1998 that Black culinary was missing from mainstream conversations and the media space and set out to do something about it.
We connected in 2005 for another project and again in 2007 when he approached me about Cuisine Noir.
In 2020, I founded The Global Food and Drink Initiative to play a more significant role in this media space as well as in spaces where we as people of African descent, have made invaluable contributions to cuisines around the world that continue to be overlooked, misappropriated, stripped of their significance and omitted. In addition, it provides communities with education not taught in schools and most social settings and empowers them to advocate for diverse and inclusive storytelling, perspectives and voices.
To receive this award three years into this journey of launching The Global Food and Drink is one that I am so incredibly proud of. In addition, I want to thank my amazing team, who believes in this work story by story and puts their heart and soul into it because of their personal connection and the impact.
And finally, to the Journalism committee, which recognized our work and mission and put our name in the room, “Thank You!” It is such an honor to be recognized among other editors and journalists, and it is one that I will forever be grateful for.