James Beard award-winning chefs Frank Stitt and Bryant Terry will be featured in a discussion on “Food and Community in the South” during the 2022 Chenoweth Lecture
Amanda Storey, executive director of Jones Valley Teaching Farm, will be moderator, and chef Ama ‘Ifabagmila’ Shambulia, the owner and operator of A Beautiful Life Enterprises, also will be participating.
The panel will discuss the interconnectivity of food and community in the American South during the event at the Birmingham Museum of Art on Nov. 3, 6-7 p.m., according to an announcement from the museum.
The Chenoweth Lectures were established in 1985 by Dr. Arthur I. Chenoweth as a memorial to his brother and parents, according to the announcement. The purpose of these lectures is to encourage international understanding through the presentation of a variety of subjects by specialists in their fields.
Stitt’s affinity for Southern ingredients comes from his roots in rural Alabama. He trained at renowned restaurants and wineries in San Francisco, the south of France, Paris and Florence. When it was time for his own restaurant, he came home to Alabama and opened Highlands Bar & Grill on Birmingham’s Southside. He later followed with Bottega and Chez Fonfon.
Stitt is a leading champion of sustainable agriculture and humane animal husbandry. He is the author of the award-winning books “Frank Stitt’s Southern Table,” and “Frank Stitt’s Bottega Favorita.”
In 2018, Highlands Bar & Grill received the James Beard Foundation Award for Outstanding Restaurant. Stitt previously received the foundation’s award for Best Chef: Southeast in 2001 and was nominated in 2008 for Outstanding Chef. He also received the Horst H. Schulze Award for Excellence in Hospitality from Auburn University in 2017.
Terry also is renowned for his activism to create a healthy, just and sustainable food system. He is a James Beard & NAACP Image Award-winning chef, educator and author, as well as founder and editor-in-chief of 4 Color Books and founder of the creative studio Zenmi. Since 2015, he has been the chef in residence at the Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco.
Terry’s most recent book, “Black Food: Stories, Art and Recipes from Across the African Diaspora,” will be available for purchase at the museum store and can be reserved online, according to the announcement.
Under the leadership of Storey as executive director, the Jones Valley Teaching Farm launched the Ready to Grow capital campaign to build a Center for Food Education on its downtown campus. The farm’s educational program Good School Food has grown from one to seven schools in the Birmingham City School system over the past 10 years.
Storey has a background working with the Community Food Bank of Central Alabama and the United Way of Central Alabama, as well as at Cooking Light magazine.
Shambulia is an educator and advocate for wellness who is passionate about sharing whole food plant-based nutrition education, according to the announcement. Her career is built on being a natural foods chef, wellness coach, an “herban” homesteader and “budding” biodynamic gardener.
Shambulia serves on the culinary advisory board of the Jones Valley Teaching Farm’s Center for Food Education, is a member of Hopewell Women in Agriculture and has been accepted into the 2022-23 Milestones Circles Program at the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center for women business owners.
Registration to the event is free and encouraged but not required. To register and for more information, go to artsbma.org, look under “Things to Do” and the “Calendar.”
