Get the secrets to traditional dishes made by Black chefs in Charlotte.

By CharlotteFive staff

Updated June 3, 2022 7:17 PM

The Skillet: How Black Cuisine Became America’s Supper

For the past six months, we have been interviewing North Carolina-based chefs, who generously shared their expertise in making recipes from Nigeria, the American South, Brazil, and Puerto Rico for a one-of-a-kind journey into how our plates came to look the way they do. Explore food of the African diaspora here:

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Last summer, CharlotteFive launched “The Skillet: How Black Cuisine Became America’s Supper”. Reported by Nigerian-born writer Emiene Wright, the series draws connections between African food culture and the everyday dishes of the diaspora.

In stories and videos, Charlotte chefs taught us how to make their favorite recipes from Nigeria, the American South, Brazil and Puerto Rico.

As Black History Month 2022 begins, we at CharlotteFive wanted to start our coverage by revisiting this series. From creamy grits to fried chicken, rice and beans and more, you can share in the journey that Black food has taken to become the Southern staples we know today.

Editor’s note: Stay tuned for a story later this month from Wright about why it’s important to continue telling Black food stories.

Emiene Wright is a Nigerian-born, Southern-raised journalist in Charlotte. When she’s not digging deep into arts and culture, she’s cooking the spiciest food imaginable. Illustration by Gabby McCall

Chef Ken Aponte

The chef behind the inventive plant-based cuisine at Alchemy, Ken Aponte, loves experimenting. And his recipe for fried plantains shows how Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean come together in modern cuisine.

Watch: Learn more about how to make Tostones with chef Ken Aponte.

Chef Michael Bowling

Like many chefs, Michael Bowling grew up learning how to cook from his mother and put those skills to use at his globally inspired street food restaurant, Hot Box Next Level Kitchen. Now, he shares the secrets to getting perfectly seasoned fried chicken, along with the history behind the dish.

Watch: Learn how to make fried chicken with Michael Bowling.

Chef Greg Collier

James Beard-nominated chef Greg Collier is well-known for telling the stories of Black food — and Leah & Louise, the restaurant he owns with his wife, Subrina Collier, elevates Mississippi River Valley food to new levels. Here, he explains the nuances needed to make an exceptionally creamy pot of grits — starting with taking your time.

Watch: Learn how to make grits with Greg Collier.

Chef Esther Ikuru

The Cooking Pot’s chef and owner, Esther Ikuru, shared her recipe for moi moi and stirred memories for Emiene Wright, whose Nigerian aunt made the dish for her as a young child. The dish crafted with black-eyed peas, spices and meats is a labor of love that’s worth a taste.

Watch: Learn how to make moi moi with Esther Ikuru.

Chefs Oscar Johnson and DC Cooper

Jimmy Pearls co-owners and chefs Oscar Johnson and DC Cooper both hail from Virginia, where Atlantic croaker is plentiful. They share the history of the dish in the Black community, along with a recipe for a meal full of Tidewater flavors.

Jimmy Pears chefs Daryl “DC” Cooper and Oscar Johnson show CharlotteFive reporter Emiene Wright how to make croaker and potatoes, Virginia Tidewater-style, in February 2021. David T. Foster III

Watch: Learn how to make croaker with DC Cooper and Oscar Johnson.

Chef Whitney Thomas

A trailblazing woman in fine dining kitchens, chef Whitney Thomas — now executive chef at 5Church Atlanta — has connected the dots between rice and beans in dishes like Brazillian Fejoada to the African diaspora. Find out her secrets to evoking the past in this one-pot meal.