A legacy chef is an individual who carries the recipes of past generations as a form of activism. The act of being a legacy chef can have profound impacts on society due to the fact that these individuals usually carry recipes on their shoulders through colonization, violence, cultural suppression, political upheaval and natural disasters as an act of societal disobedience and self-preservation.
In my restaurant I serve food that was created by my grandmothers grandmothers, and then her grandmother before her. My family fled violence, survived colonization, withstood natural disasters and lost everything; except the recipes I continue to carry as a legacy chef. Food is life, food is meaning; it can make you smile, and make you cry. That is what a legacy chef does. A legacy chef is a protector, a transporter and an lifeline for recipes of marginalized peoples.
by QueenQadri December 29, 2021