Diaspora Food Stories

The Diaspora Food Stories podcast will explore the stories behind the creators from the African Diaspora, furthering the mission of The Global Food and Drink Initiative to connect Black people through food, drink, and travel. Listeners can expect conversations that go deep into the history and origins of our foods and how they have shaped cultures, communities, and the world. In addition, Diaspora Food Stories will be the first food podcast to offer these stories in the native tongue of our guests, thereby adding another important element to the preservation of our food and drink stories; the language in which they are introduced.

Episodes

Restaurateur and Innovator Chef Russell Jackson - Part 2

Jun 11 2026
56 min 45 sec

We're back for part 2 as we follow Chef Russell Jackson from California to New York and the opening of his first restaurant Reverence NYC, which he...

Restaurateur and Innovator Chef Russell Jackson

May 28 2026
1 h 7 min 32 sec

NYC-based chef Russell Jackson doesn't do things like others when it comes to his work and how he looks at food. The industry veteran of 49 years has...

International Creole Food Festival Founder Jean-Charles Bertrand

Apr 30 2026
56 min 38 sec

(As part of our work to present food culture through language, this episode is available in French only. However, you can read about the upcoming The...

Cultural Curator, Filmmaker and Author Zella Palmer

Apr 15 2026
1 h 29 min 19 sec

Zella Palmer, is an author, professor, filmmaker, curator, scholar and the Chair and Director of the Dillard University Ray Charles Program in...

Chef Instructor and Author Sheri Raleigh

Feb 25 2026
54 min 42 sec

Sheri Raleigh is a prominent chef Instructor and the owner of Cast Iron Skillet Culinaire, LLC, based in Waco, Texas. She has made significant...

Gullah Geechee Singer and Cultural Artist Zabriel Rivers

Feb 12 2026
33 min 20 sec

Zabriel Rivers is a Gullah Geechee singer, cultural artist, and educator celebrated for his "soaring voice and magnetic stage presence that brings...

Creole Food Festival Co-Founder Fabrice Armand

Sep 04 2025
59 min 31 sec

Fabrice Armand is the founder of TRIB Marketing Agency and the co-founder of the Creole Food Festival, the only Creole cultural festival taking place...

Award-Winning Somali Author and Entrepreneur Hawa Hassan

Apr 30 2025
45 min 9 sec

Hawa Hassan was born in Somalia and left before the age of six due to conflict in the country. As a refugee in Kenya with her mother and siblings,...

Ustawi Afrika Founder Doreen Irungu

Apr 09 2025
1 h 17 min 21 sec

Doreen Irungu is the founder of Ustawi Afrika, an amazing organization that trains women farmers around food sovereignty and sustainability. To date,...

Championing Nigerian Food Culture with Gbolabo Gibbs Adebakin and Nkesi Enyioha

Mar 20 2025
57 min 27 sec

Nigerian chef Gbolabo Gibbs Adebakin, known simply as Chef Gibbs, founded the Nigeria Food Summit to host the largest gathering of chefs,...