Our New Podcast Celebrates Black Entrepreneurs & Creators

Heading out for an end-of-summer road trip? Need some background noise to drown out the world on your daily walk? Wherever you’re going, the Food52 Podcast Network’s got your back with deep dives into food history, recipe cook-throughs, and today, a brand-new show: Black & Highly Flavored.

Showcasing talented innovators in the food and beverage space, Black & Highly Flavored is hosted by hospitality industry veterans—and SoulPhoodie co-founders—romantic and business partners Derek Kirk and Tamara Celeste. Together, Kirk and Celeste will interview Black entrepreneurs and creators working in everything from ice cream to culinary history, and plenty in between. We were lucky enough to score a sneak preview of the pod, and wanted to introduce you to the guests and share a snippet from their conversations. Check out every episode of Black & Highly Flavored for the full interviews.

Episode 1: Lokelani Alabanza

Nashville-based Lokelani Alabanza owns Saturated, a CBD-infused plant-based ice cream company. Though she’s worked as a private chef and in kitchens around the world, her passion for pastry and vintage recipes led her to ice cream. Alabanza doesn’t just feed bellies: Her continuing goal is to educate customers about African American culinary history through flavor innovation.

Episode 2: Adrian Miller

Culinary historian, attorney, and certified barbecue judge Adrian Miller is the author of the James Beard Award–winning Soul Food: The Surprising Story of an American Cuisine, One Plate at a Time. Miller’s latest book, Black Smoke: African Americans and the United States of Barbecue, places African Americans in the center of the conversation when discussing American barbecue culture, as Black pitmasters, restaurateurs, and home cooks in fact pioneered the cooking style.

Episode 3: Janique & Anthony Edwards

As the founders of EatOkra, wife and husband duo Janique & Anthony Edwards aim to honor the foodways of the African diaspora through community support. Upon arriving in Brooklyn to an insufficient kitchen, the Edwardses spent too much time googling “Black-owned restaurants” and took matters into their own hands. Since launching in 2016, EatOkra has grown from a local app to a national database with over 9,000 listings and 35,000 users.

Episode 4: Atinuke Diver

Writer, community organizer, and holder of a Juris Doctor degree, Atinuke “Tinu” Akintola Diver is currently making her first full-length documentary, This Belongs to Us. The film aims to debunk the myth that American beer culture is for white men and explores Black female brewers’ reclaiming of the craft.

Episode 5: Gail & Uche Azodo

For Sips Coffee Roasters in Miami, Gail and Uche Azodo’s coffee roasting is a family business born from a natural curiosity and mutual love of coffee. Firmly believing that coffee should taste great whether it’s a pour-over or drip, sourced from South America or Africa, the couple feel that coffee should be good for everyone, from drinker to roaster to farmer. Further, as one of the few, or perhaps the only, Black roasters in the area, they aim to develop the industry and educate as many local Black coffee professionals as possible.

Which episode of the Black & Highly Flavored podcast are you most excited about? Who do you think would make a great guest for Season 2? Let us know in the comments!