African American Heritage Tasting Dinner; Milwaukee chefs served
MILWAUKEE - At the Ivy House in Milwaukee, Sunday night family dinner recently had a twist. Hundreds gathered for the annual African American Heritage Tasting Dinner on Monday, Feb. 18.
"I want an environment where we all get together and fellowship," Derek Mosley, director of the Lubar Center at Marquette University’s Law School, said.
Mosley and a team with the university organized the meaningful meal.
"The purpose of the event is to expose people who may not be familiar with different African cultures," Mosley said. "Africa is a continent. It has many different cultures in that continent."
Derek Mosley
At the tasting, people of different ages and backgrounds explored African, Jamaican and Cajun cultures through food.
"We have salt fish, akee, we have jerk chicken," Ananda Deacon said. "I think they covered all the bases and I’m very excited to each this peach cobbler cupcake."
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Milwaukee-area chefs served up the savory and sweet.
African American Heritage Tasting Dinner at Ivy House, Milwaukee
"Even with our food, it has our ancestors and our roots and culture cooked into it," Tameika Henderson of Vegan Soul Catering said.
Soul food is engrained in Black culture. It can also be a reminder of past struggles.
African American Heritage Tasting Dinner at Ivy House, Milwaukee
"Black people have a history of taking the scraps, and taking the things that get tossed away and making it our own and making it beautiful," Ananda Deacon said.
The food also tells a story of triumph.
"It’s the flavor. We can boil water and make it taste good," Bama Grice said. Grice said eating together, is important to her family.
African American Heritage Tasting Dinner at Ivy House, Milwaukee
"In our culture, we sat and had dinner. We picked the greens together, we cleaned the black-eyed peas together, we peeled the sweet potatoes together," Grice said.
The meal is also a teaching tool for Jeff Leismer and others in the room.
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"I really loved learning about the foods, the origins," Leismer said.
Around 250 people attended the tasting. Organizers say tickets sold out in one day.