Savoring Flavor

Meghan Sussex, Nia Renée Hill, the founders of the Black Women in Food Summit and many others demonstrate that Black women are redefining the global culinary landscape.

Chef Tanya Holland (left), podcast host Nia Renée Hill and Chef Maya-Camille Broussard enjoying each other’s company at Kwame Onwuachi's Washington, D.C. restaurant, Dogon. Photo courtesy of Nia Renee Hill.

I started a little dining club called The Sista Supper in the mid-2000s. It wasn’t exclusive, but I handpicked all the initial dining companions, and from there, the women were asked to bring another Black woman who they felt would appreciate the experience.

For approximately four years, we ate and drank at some of the best restaurants in Chicago. The women ranged in ages from 30s to 60s, and their occupations consisted of jobs in media, medicine, law, government, administration, fitness and hospitality. It was a great group of 10 to 12 ladies at each gathering, and we checked out just about every type of restaurant in the city.

We laughed over small, chic plates in a tight little corner at avec. We learned how to salsa dance and took breaks eating ceviche and drinking sangria at Nacional 27. We also indulged in Peruvian, Italian, sushi, soul food and more around town as we talked about our relationships, jobs, fashion, hair, politics and religion. No topic was off the table, but one thing was clear: No matter our points of view, we could always agree on where we were eating next. Also, everyone was always willing to try something new and unconventional.

That’s the thing about Black women that the world is slowly starting to recognize. We are not a monolith. Many of us may enjoy the Southern cuisine we grew up with that was prepared by our mothers, grandmothers, aunts and other older relatives, and we are curious about what other cultures have to offer as well. Black women are extremely knowledgeable about what’s going on.

Nia Renée Hill (left) with chefs Jazmin Johnson, Lana Lagomarsini and Fariyal Abdullahi at Hav & Mar in New York. Photo courtesy of Nia Renée Hill.

We love fine dining, tasty global cuisine and upscale dinner parties as much as anyone else, which is why it was perplexing to read such negative press on Meghan Sussex’s new Netflix lifestyle series, With Love, Meghan.

How odd was it to read that the series was “unrelatable” from major news outlets that would never write the same about Martha Stewart or Rachael Ray. They must have forgotten that we’ve been here before. There was a weekly show called B. Smith with Style in the late-1990s that pretty much followed the same formula. It featured fabulous home decor and cooking segments by the late Black model and actress. B. Smith also authored several lifestyle books and cookbooks, designed a furniture line, and developed a home decor collection for Bed, Bath & Beyond.

These media outlets also clearly don’t have diverse social media newsfeeds that show Black women living it up and getting a taste of fine cuisine, whether they’re whipping it up themselves or indulging at a great restaurant.

Rochelle Oliver, managing editor, Island and Spice Magazine (from left); Audarshia; Lynn House, national spirits specialist and portfolio mixologist, Heaven Hill Distillery; award-winning author Toni Tipton-Martin; Colleen Vincent, vice president, community, The James Beard Foundation, at the Black Food Folks party at Virtue Restaurant in Chicago. Photo: Audarshia Townsend

They don’t follow people like Nia Renée Hill, Nina Oduro, Maame Boakye, Jamila Robinson, Toni Tipton-Martin or Colleen Vincent. These are Black women who have established themselves as powerful voices and forces in the food world.

Hill, for example, hosts the At the Table with Nia Renée Hill YouTube video series. In it, she interviews culinary newsmakers like the McBride Sisters or chronicles her fabulous experiences at top restaurants across the globe. The wife of famed comedian Bill Burr, Hill herself boasts a comedy background, which she injects in her videos as well as on her husband’s popular podcast. She’s also known to throw some great dinner parties in her lavish Los Angeles home or at hot local restaurants with her foodie friends.

“It feels luxurious, but the act of getting dressed up to go out for a beautiful meal is an act of self care,” Hill says. “The world puts a lot of responsibility (and restrictions) on Black women, so to claim ownership on your time in the form of eating and drinking well is a way to prioritize the self in a soft, yet radical way.”

Maame Boakye (left) and Nina Oduro at the second-annual Black Women in Food Summit in Washington, D.C. Photo: Audarshia Townsend

Hill is a longtime supporter of Dine Diaspora, a Washington, D.C.-based firm specializing in cultural food experiences. Founded by Nina Oduro and Maame Boakye, the company celebrated 10 years in 2024. This month, they held the eighth edition of the Black Women in Food Awards, a competition that I have served as a judge for the second year in a row. And April 25-26, they will host the third-annual Black Women in Food Summit in Washington, D.C. The two-day event features a marketplace with Black women-owned food and beverage products; a pitch slam where the winner gets a $10,000 grant for her business; and daylong programming of education sessions for those new to the industry as well as the veterans. Women—and men too—come from all corners of the earth to attend.

“As the world slowly begins to open up its eyes to the contributions that Black women have made in the global food industry, I continue to be inspired by the chefs, wine and spirit makers, writers and scholars who push the culture forward in new and innovative ways,” Hill says. “The world is our oyster and I’ll take a dozen!”

Here’s where to register for the Black Women in Food Summit.

Jamila Robinson, editor-in-chief, Bon Appetit and Epicurious (left), with Audarshia at the second-annual Black Women in Food Summit in Washington, D.C. Photo: Dine Diaspora