Coming up in the hospitality industry, Klancy Miller didn't see enough faces that looked like her own. With a desire to give the younger generation of Black women access to more options and mentors, Miller launched For the Culture magazine.
Miller says if we pay attention to Julia Child, we should give equal recognition to these five women — Edna Lewis, Barbara Elaine Smith (B. Smith), Leah Chase, Vertamae Smart-Grosvenor, and Lena Richard. While her book, For the Culture: Phenomenal Black Women and Femmes in Food: Interviews, Inspiration, and Recipes, is composed of personal stories and experiences, Miller pays tribute to these five culinary matriarchs with essays detailing their accomplishments.
Lena Richard had her own cooking show airing twice a week 15 years before Child'sThe French Chef. Richard started out as a domestic cook for a white family in Louisiana. Blessed with an entrepreneurial spirit, she opened a culinary school for other domestic cooks so they could improve their skills and charge money for their services. She also wrote a cookbook, operated a restaurant, and opened pop-up restaurants in the North.
The multi-hyphenated women with whom Miller spoke have made names for themselves in agriculture, community activism, fashion, food, photography, spirits, and wine.
Miller will be in conversation with High on the Hog producers Fabienne Toback and Karis Jagger at the Ace Hotel on Monday, September 25. On Wednesday, September 27, she'll be talking with Danielle Dorsey at Now Serving.
An anthology of interviews, recipes, and wisdom, For the Culture celebrates the Black women and femmes shaping today's food and wine world. Photo courtesy of Harvest.