#195: Cuisine Noir : The Legacy

About this episode

V. Sheree Williams discusses her journey in building Cuisine Noir and the importance of Black food media.

V. Sheree Williams didn't set out to build a legacy — she set out to tell stories. But over a decade of centering Black chefs, food culture, and the African diaspora through Cuisine Noir, that's exactly what she's done. In this conversation, Sheree takes us inside the origin of Cuisine Noir — from Chef Richard Pannell's 1998 vision to the digital reimagining she launched on September 1, 2009 of the first media outlet in the U.S. to pioneer Black food media — at a time when Black food stories were essentially nonexistent in mainstream media. She gets real about advertising dollars, the difference between preserving and amplifying, and why she founded the Global Food and Drink Initiative to carry the work even further. This is a conversation about legacy, integrity, and what it means to stay true to your mission.

People in this episode

Host: Melissa L. Jones

Guest: V. Sheree Williams

Topics covered

• Black chefs
• food culture
• African diaspora
• media legacy
• advertising
• integrity

Keywords

• Cuisine Noir
• Black food media
• V. Sheree Williams
• Chef Richard Pannell
• Global Food and Drink Initiative
• food culture
• African diaspora

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Cuisine Noir, Global Food and Drink Initiative

More episodes of Edible Activist

• #194: Deb Freeman: Giving Edna Lewis Her Flowers · June 3, 2026 · 44 min
• #193: Get Fresh Daily: Where Food Justice Meets Joy in Philadelphia · May 27, 2026 · 51 min
• #192: The Lowcountry Table with Amethyst Ganaway · May 20, 2026 · 1h 4m
• #191: When the Pulpit Meets the Soil: The Church as a Food Hub · May 7, 2026 · 58 min
• #190: The Community Creates the Market: Brooklyn Supported Agriculture · April 7, 2026 · 42 min
• #189: Nana Kumi: The Land Remembers · March 24, 2026 · 42 min