“She gifted me the freedom to discover the well-rounded joy that food brings — The Conversations it Stirs. The Spaces it Manifests. The Flavors it Forges. The Lessons it Instills. And The Memories it Creates and Conjures.”

“There’s not a moment in life that I can recall not loving food. I feel at peace when I’m in the kitchen, and I knew my peace should not come at the price of sacrificing my Blackness. Food is history. It’s culture. It’s connection.”

“Food has always had an interesting way of keeping me grounded. Wrapping me up like a warm hug on a chilly day. I have a slew of dishes that give me this feeling. A feeling of nostalgia. Meals that allow my soul to look back.”

“The good thing about food is that you can teach yourself how to do anything, including how to cook for yourself or even assemble. That’s something that has helped me gain that confidence where I know I can teach myself anything in a work capacity.”

“As a child, I’d often roam the outskirts of Accra with my schoolmates, pooling together what little change we had in order to share and enjoy the smile-evoking flavors of Ghana. Be it a protein such as goat, chicken or fish, a multitude of fresh vegetables or “bready” carbs, shito made everything taste as it should — joyful.”

“The women in my family were my culinary inspirations and my earliest food memories took place in their kitchens.”

“The beauty of life is that we are continuously building on a path that someone before us paved. As Black Women, we have a responsibility to always build on the beauty of our essence, and we hope to do that by celebrating each other through flowers.”