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LEROY CAMPBELL CAREFREE HAND SIGNED AFRICAN AMERICAN ART
LEROY CAMPBELL CAREFREE HAND SIGNED AFRICAN AMERICAN ART
GULLAH GEECHEE HERITAGE IN THE GOLDEN ISLES (PAPERBACK)
GULLAH GEECHEE HERITAGE IN THE GOLDEN ISLES (PAPERBACK)
(27×40) Eve’s Bayou Movie Samuel L Jackson Lynn Whitfield Original Poster Print
(27×40) Eve’s Bayou Movie Samuel L Jackson Lynn Whitfield Original Poster Print
Goddesses by Synthia SAINT JAMES Canvas Wall Art 3 Piece
Goddesses by Synthia SAINT JAMES Canvas Wall Art 3 Piece
Gullah Spirit: The Art of Jonathan Green
Gullah Spirit: The Art of Jonathan Green
‘Beyonce’ Graphic Art Print on Wrapped Canvas Size: 18″ H x 26″ W x 1.5″ D
‘Beyonce’ Graphic Art Print on Wrapped Canvas Size: 18″ H x 26″ W x 1.5″ D
MY KIND OF NET ART PRINT BY GULLAH LIVING SERIES BY SAMANTHA CLAAR – X-LARGE
MY KIND OF NET ART PRINT BY GULLAH LIVING SERIES BY SAMANTHA CLAAR – X-LARGE
Dancing in The Living Room (Girls) – Katherine Roundtree 24×32 Black Framed – African American Black Art Print Wall Decor Poster
Dancing in The Living Room (Girls) – Katherine Roundtree 24×32 Black Framed – African American Black Art Print Wall Decor Poster
35″ X 35″ GULLAH GEECHEE CONJURE WOMAN BY SYNTHIA SAINT JAMES CANVAS ART PRINT – MASTERPIECE ART GALLERY
35″ X 35″ GULLAH GEECHEE CONJURE WOMAN BY SYNTHIA SAINT JAMES CANVAS ART PRINT – MASTERPIECE ART GALLERY
HBCU’s Canvas Print
HBCU’s Canvas Print
The Goodbye Kiss (Buffalo Soldier) – Katherine Roundtree 24×32 Black Framed – African American Black Art Print Wall Decor Poster
The Goodbye Kiss (Buffalo Soldier) – Katherine Roundtree 24×32 Black Framed – African American Black Art Print Wall Decor Poster
35″” x 35″” Juneteenth by Synthia Saint James Canvas Art Print – Masterpiece Art Gallery
35″” x 35″” Juneteenth by Synthia Saint James Canvas Art Print – Masterpiece Art Gallery
RING SHOUT GULLAH ISLANDS – UNFRAMED PRINT ON CANVAS WORLD MENAGERIE
RING SHOUT GULLAH ISLANDS – UNFRAMED PRINT ON CANVAS WORLD MENAGERIE
MASTER PIECE JOOK JOINT GULLAH ISLANDS WALL ART, 35X35
MASTER PIECE JOOK JOINT GULLAH ISLANDS WALL ART, 35X35
GULLAH IMAGES: THE ART OF JONATHAN GREEN
GULLAH IMAGES: THE ART OF JONATHAN GREEN
A Different World (TV) 11 x 17 TV Poster – Style A
A Different World (TV) 11 x 17 TV Poster – Style A
MASTER PIECE LESSONS GULLAH ISLANDS WALL ART, 35X35
MASTER PIECE LESSONS GULLAH ISLANDS WALL ART, 35X35
227 – TV SHOW 80’S CLASSIC SHOW PRINT, GIFT FOR BEST FRIEND, FOR MOM, HOME DECOR, BLACK ART POP ART, FEMINIST
227 – TV SHOW 80’S CLASSIC SHOW PRINT, GIFT FOR BEST FRIEND, FOR MOM, HOME DECOR, BLACK ART POP ART, FEMINIST
Amanti Art Funeral Procession Framed Art Print
Amanti Art Funeral Procession Framed Art Print
MASTER PIECE GATHERING GULLAH ISLANDS WALL ART, 30X40
MASTER PIECE GATHERING GULLAH ISLANDS WALL ART, 30X40
Yes. Jesus Loves Me (Religious) – Katherine Roundtree 16×20 Black Framed
Yes. Jesus Loves Me (Religious) – Katherine Roundtree 16×20 Black Framed
Gullah Spirituals – by Eric Sean Crawford (Paperback)
Homecoming
America’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities: A Narrative History, 1837-2009
Gullah Spirit: The Art of Jonathan Green
Brown Sugar Kitchen Cookbook
Juneteenth Paper Dolls:
Black Girl Baking: Wholesome Recipes Inspired by a Soulful Upbringing
In Pursuit of Flavor: The Beloved Classic Cookbook from the Acclaimed Author of The Taste of Country Cooking
Little People Big Dreams Maya Angelou Book
GULLAH CUISINE: BY LAND AND BY SEA
GULLAH HOME COOKING THE DAUFUSKIE WAY: SMOKIN’ JOE BUTTER BEANS, OL’ ‘FUSKIE FRIED CRAB RICE, STICKY-BUSH BLACKBERRY DUMPLING, AND OTHER SEA ISLAND FAVORITES (PAPERBACK)
MAMA DOONK’S GULLAH RECIPES (PAPERBACK)
GULLAH IMAGES: THE ART OF JONATHAN GREEN
GROWING UP GULLAH IN THE LOWCOUNTRY (PAPERBACK)
AFRICAN AMERICAN LIFE IN THE GEORGIA LOWCOUNTRY: THE ATLANTIC WORLD AND THE GULLAH GEECHEE (RACE IN THE ATLANTIC WORLD, 1700–1900 SER.)
G IS FOR GULLAH
BLACK BORDER : GULLAH STORIES OF THE CAROLINA COAST
GULLAH NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS (HARDCOVER)
TALKING TO THE DEAD : RELIGION, MUSIC, AND LIVED MEMORY AMONG GULLAH/GEECHEE WOMEN
GULLAH CULTURE IN AMERICA (PAPERBACK)
GULLAH DAYS: HILTON HEAD ISLANDERS BEFORE THE BRIDGE 1861-1956
THE JOHN HOPE FRANKLIN AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE: MAKING GULLAH: A HISTORY OF SAPELO ISLANDERS, RACE, AND THE AMERICAN IMAGINATION (PAPERBACK)

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7 Things Food Entrepreneurs Can Learn from the Life of Leah Chase

7 Things Food Entrepreneurs Can Learn from the Life of Leah Chase

The late Leah Chase was a force to be reckoned with in business and life. But it was her business savvy that transitioned the little family run restaurant owned by her late husband’s parents into one of the most famous restaurants in the world. The young woman from Madisonville, Louisiana who ventured back to the place of her birth, New Orleans, became a woman who fed heads of state, notables from around the world and the kings and queens who pretended to be the common folk of New Orleans. Her passing warranted two services and tributes far and wide. She was The Queen and a living legend.

But her business-savvy is worthy of examination. Black women food entrepreneurs can learn much from Leah’s life. Here are seven lessons.

Veteran food editor and writer, and Serious Eats’ managing culinary director Dan Gritzer shared an interview on Serious Eats he conducted with Leah more than five years ago, which was published as a part of his tribute upon her death. In some of the answers to Dan’s questions are nuggets of advice and inspiration that can jar your creativity and even give you an idea or two.

Leah was the consummate student. She paid close attention to her elders and others. In fact, she studied her own mother-in-law.

My mother-in-law was a progressive woman. She didn’t know anything about restaurants in those days, but she’d give it a try. She borrowed $600 from a brewery; that’s how she opened this restaurant. She was really making money—she was the bank, too. People would come, they’d work, and after they worked they’d come and cash their checks with her. She’d sit with her box in her lap, and she’d cash checks. And then they’d buy oyster rolls to take home.

Leah studied her market and created a vision to serve them better.

You have to understand what restaurants were in the black community then. Blacks didn’t eat out much, because they didn’t have places where they could eat. When I came in, I said I wanted to change this and that, whatever I learned from the other side of town. We started putting tablecloths on the tables and got it going.

Leah gave herself permission to make a mistake and pivot to find out what worked best.

First thing I put on the menu was lobster thermidor, but nobody knew what the heck that was…

…I had to back up and start doing things we were accustomed to at home. Oyster dressing, and the jambalayas. Some of the recipes, well, my mother-in-law was a good cook, so she already had done gumbos and the fried stuff. So you learn. I had to learn. A lot of chefs helped me, and I had to learn from a lot of chefs.

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Leah learned early on that sometimes you give something more than food. Like safety, knowledge and freedom.

Then, in the ’60s, here comes the new breed of black people. They thought the NAACP was moving too slow, so they were going to move fast. They’d meet here and plan what they were going to do. They’d go out, some would go to jail, some would go all over, sitting in and protesting…  I started collecting art in 1972 or ’73, because I knew a lot of artists. John Scott was living there and doing art. In those days, they had no place to show their work. Galleries didn’t pick up on African American art, and anyway, African Americans weren’t allowed in the museums till the ’60s, so we didn’t know anything about it. I started putting their art up in here. 

Leah did what she loved without concern about fame or attention.

You just get known doing what you have to do every day, and that’s thinking about other people and trying to help them up. I don’t only help people in my community. I do for everybody, white, black, whatever, that need my help. And I guess, I never know—sometimes I wonder, what do you see with me that’s different?

Leah believed giving and receiving were part of the same process.

I had helped raise money for food banks, and they raised money to help buy me new chairs. Everybody helped me get back on my feet. You do things for others, and you never know when you’re going to need that person. I try to encourage other people to just do something, for heaven’s sake. You might not have money. I think that’s the biggest cop-out in the world. You don’t give the money, so you give the service. Anything you’ve got, you can share. 

The most priceless lesson of all.

I’m never going to give up. I’m going to stay on this battlefield till I die.

She did.

Thank you so much, Dan.

Reposted from Fresh and Fried Hard. Check out more here: http://freshandfriedhard.com/

About Fresh and Fried Hard:

Fresh & Fried Hard is part metaphor and all truth. Do not stand behind a black woman in a fast food ordering line unless you have time. We’re the ones asking if the fries are fresh and telling you to fry those chicken wings hard. Our noses and tongues possess magical powers. We can smell and taste when something is not quite right with the recipe. Our ability to build communities, send folk to college, and keep the lights on with a few eggs, some flour and a hot stove is our hallmark. And no one does almost better than Jesus than spiritual mothers who can multiply fish filets, a few loaves of white bread and some spaghetti to raise money for the building fund or to help someone pay for a funeral.

This is just a blog. But it is my tribute to black women and food. It is about our power using food. It is about showing love with food.

Robin Caldwell

Robin Caldwell is the blogger behind freshandfriedhard.com and a public historian and researcher focusing on Black culinary traditions and foodways.

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Robin Caldwell is the blogger behind freshandfriedhard.com and a public historian and researcher focusing on Black culinary traditions and foodways.

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LEROY CAMPBELL CAREFREE HAND SIGNED AFRICAN AMERICAN ART
Gullah Spirit: The Art of Jonathan Green
35″” x 35″” Juneteenth by Synthia Saint James Canvas Art Print – Masterpiece Art Gallery
‘Beyonce’ Graphic Art Print on Wrapped Canvas Size: 18″ H x 26″ W x 1.5″ D
HBCU’s Canvas Print
A Different World (TV) 11 x 17 TV Poster – Style A
(27×40) Eve’s Bayou Movie Samuel L Jackson Lynn Whitfield Original Poster Print
Yes. Jesus Loves Me (Religious) – Katherine Roundtree 16×20 Black Framed
Dancing in The Living Room (Girls) – Katherine Roundtree 24×32 Black Framed – African American Black Art Print Wall Decor Poster
The Goodbye Kiss (Buffalo Soldier) – Katherine Roundtree 24×32 Black Framed – African American Black Art Print Wall Decor Poster
Amanti Art Funeral Procession Framed Art Print
Goddesses by Synthia SAINT JAMES Canvas Wall Art 3 Piece
227 – TV SHOW 80’S CLASSIC SHOW PRINT, GIFT FOR BEST FRIEND, FOR MOM, HOME DECOR, BLACK ART POP ART, FEMINIST
MASTER PIECE LESSONS GULLAH ISLANDS WALL ART, 35X35
GULLAH IMAGES: THE ART OF JONATHAN GREEN
GULLAH GEECHEE HERITAGE IN THE GOLDEN ISLES (PAPERBACK)
MASTER PIECE JOOK JOINT GULLAH ISLANDS WALL ART, 35X35
MY KIND OF NET ART PRINT BY GULLAH LIVING SERIES BY SAMANTHA CLAAR – X-LARGE
35″ X 35″ GULLAH GEECHEE CONJURE WOMAN BY SYNTHIA SAINT JAMES CANVAS ART PRINT – MASTERPIECE ART GALLERY
RING SHOUT GULLAH ISLANDS – UNFRAMED PRINT ON CANVAS WORLD MENAGERIE
MASTER PIECE GATHERING GULLAH ISLANDS WALL ART, 30X40
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Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. All opinions remain my own.

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