Celebrity Chef Jernard Wells, host of Cleo TV’s New Soul Kitchen, talks about some of his favorite meals and shares secrets about his southern cooking style. He also reflects on pivotal moments in his career that shaped his success, including cooking for Tyler Perry and curating a supper club at The Historic Hampton House.
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Panama Jackson [00:00:00] You are now listening to theGrio’s Black Podcast Network. Black Culture Amplified?
Dr. Christina Greer [00:00:06] Hi, and welcome to the Blackest Questions. A trivia game show meant to teach us more about Black history. I’m your host, Doctor Christina Greer, politics editor for theGrio and associate professor of political science at Fordham University. In this podcast, we ask our guests five of the Blackest questions so we can learn a little bit more about them and have some fun while we’re doing it. We’re also going to learn a lot about Black history, past and present. So here’s how it works. We’ve got five rounds of questions about us. Black history, the entire diaspora, current events, you name it. And with each round, the questions get a little tougher and the guest has 10 seconds to answer. If they answer correctly, they’ll receive one symbolic Black fist and hear this. And if they get it wrong, they’ll hear this. But we still love them anyway. And after the five trivia questions, there will be a Black bonus round just for fun. And I like to call it Black Lightning. Our guest for this episode is award winning chef Jernard Wells. He cooks for celebrities. He’s been part of several Food Network shows. He has his own television show New Soul Kitchen on Cleo TV, which is a network for millennial Women of Color, by the way. And he’s also a best selling cookbook author. His latest book is Southern Inspired, and he’s also the author of 88 Ways to Our Heart and Southern Modified. Chef Jernard works to highlight Black food and Black culture. Hello, chef. How are you? Thank you so much for joining the Black is questions. Are you ready to play?
Chef Jernard Wells [00:01:28] How are you? I am so excited to be here. Don’t know how I’m going to do, but look, I’m ready to have a good time.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:01:35] Oh, I can’t wait. And I know you’re going to do fantastically. Okay. Let’s jump right in. Question number one. I feel it. I’m sending you good energy. This popular southern Louisiana dish originated from West Africa and is described by some as being an intersection of three cultures West African, Native American and European. What dish am I describing.
Chef Jernard Wells [00:01:58] Would that be gumbo?
Dr. Christina Greer [00:02:00] That is correct. It’s gumbo. Gumbo gets its name from the West African word that means Okra. West Africans were brought to America during the transatlantic slave period. They brought with them pods from the Okra plant, which were not native to America. Okra is a key ingredient in the West African version of the dish. Native Americans use fillet powder to thicken their gumbo. And Europeans use roux as a thickener instead of filet or Okra. So, Chef Jernard, I hear you were a huge fan of gumbo. Do you do anything special to make sure– you want to give us some secrets to your recipe?
Chef Jernard Wells [00:02:32] You know, I think one of my biggest secrets to my gumbo is I love adding dry shrimp to it. You can get the dehydrated shrimp out at some of your local grocery stores where you see a lot of the dry like where the gumbo filet is, but they dry shrimp adding just that to it. It’s more so in the powder form, just like the filet. But it really enriches and bring that dish to life with everything else. So I always tell people that flavor is all about the flavor and building on top of that for any gumbo experience. But gumbo is really meant for unity, just like you say with the Okra. The orka was used as a thickening agent at one point. But now, look, we like Okra all kinds of ways inside. Me personally, what I do, because I know a lot of people like I don’t like the slime that comes from the Okra, which is the thickening part of it. I put Okra in oven. I roasted first with a little salt and crack like Black pepper, olive oil and then garnish it over the top of my gumbo.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:03:34] I have always loved Okra. My mom made a steamed Okra. As kids, we loved the slimy effect of it. My grandmother used to make that slammin fried Okra from the Okra in her backyard, which was, you know,.
Chef Jernard Wells [00:03:45] Fried Okra Remoulade. Yes.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:03:47] Oh, my goodness. And, you know, her Okra was like ten inches long. You know, it’s beautiful. Why is Okra so divisive, though? You know, like sometimes you tell people you like Okra. And that’s one of those vegetables where I feel like folks either love it or they hate it. You’ve never met someone who’s like, I don’t really have thoughts on Okra.
Chef Jernard Wells [00:04:04] And I think the biggest thing is, is experiencing Okra prepare properly. Like you said, there are so many variations of making Okra. And normally people are only faced with the stigmatism of when they see in the Okra stewed and that typically turns them away. But they don’t realize that’s one of the best parts of it. If you offer them Okra in a variation of either fried or roasted, it then changes the concept. Because that’s how I introduce it to a lot of people who are experienced Okra for the first time, or who has that negative, I don’t really like to slimeness. I got it just the way you want. Crack Black pepper, salt, olive oil and then I love dusting it with just the note of cinnamon to really bring it to life.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:04:49] What?
Chef Jernard Wells [00:04:50] Roast that on. Yeah, you can eat on that for days now.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:04:54] See, I’ve never had it with roast cinnamon, But, Chef, I trust you, so I will try it that way. I will say some of the best fried Okra I’ve ever had is at the restaurant at the Hilton in Jackson, Mississippi. Let me tell you, I had it about six or seven years ago. I’m still thinking about it every morning when I wake up.
Chef Jernard Wells [00:05:09] Exactly where it is. Good to see that you share it a little lower to the Sip, because oddly enough, that’s where after– I was born and raised in Chicago, my family decided to move to Mississippi, which was a complete shock for me, going from from the big city to the country life. As I say, corn fields, dirt roads and cotton fields. But it ultimately ended up being the best thing that could ever happen to me, especially from the food standpoint. It really learning about that culture of cooking food. And my father so happen to be Creole as well. So that weighed a lot into my style of cooking and what I love.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:05:48] Well, that’s what I want to ask you because I you you took your love of the cuisine and you turned it into a career which a lot of people aren’t able to take their passions and turn it into a profession. And you mentioned your dad’s Creole and he was a Creole chef as well and your mom was a pastry chef. So tell us a little bit more about growing up in a house clearly surrounded by love and food and some really talented people.
Chef Jernard Wells [00:06:10] Food was really the focal point. As my mother would always say, the first ingredient to cooking is always the cast iron skillet. People say, “oh, it’s love” and she would be like, “No, you put the love in the cast iron skillet,” but there’s always the first ingredient a nice good aged cast iron skillet. But growing up in the South, that’s what I saw was the focal point of everything was food. Because if we didn’t have anything else, we had food and we had family love. And when my great grandparents and my mother and father would get together and cook, it would just be people from all around coming to just experience that. Because we had over 200 acres of farmland, it’s actually still in our family to this day. But every kind of livestock. Even from grains, from soybeans to corn. We grew it. So I had that experience of learning what it was like to to actually hang meat in the smokehouse and watch pulled shoulders cured. Go and sneaking in the smokehouse, slicing strip of as they call it. That fat back out to taste me and then my granddad would be like, “Boy, where you been?” And I’d be like, “No where.” He’ll be like, “I could smell this smokehouse all over you clothes.” See the smokehouse to tell off on you every time.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:07:28] That’s right.
Chef Jernard Wells [00:07:29] But it was the love and the culture of see how food would bring people together that truly made me fall in love with it.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:07:36] Absolutely. And, you know, you’re. You’re making me think about so many great memories. You know, my mother’s side of the family, they’re from a tiny town called Yulee, Florida, in northern Florida. And when my grandparents passed, the one thing I wanted, you know, my grandparents weren’t fancy people. My grandfather raised hogs on the side. You know, we have lots of pictures of us just running around, you know, my grandmother, that type of soil. We throw out any type of seed and everything flourishes. You know, she’s the one who had to bring in chickens’ necks. And you know, we’re city girls. So it’s like, oh my goodness, oh my God, what is happening here? But I will say when my grandparents passed, you know, it’s not like we had big fancy family heirlooms. And I tell my mother I was like, the one thing I want are these skillets. I want these cast iron skillets, and I have them. And so would I make certain things. It’s like, clearly it’s not me. I’m not a great chef. It’s clearly the pots.
Chef Jernard Wells [00:08:26] That’s the first ingredient.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:08:27] That’s right. Okay. Well, I’m here with Chef Jernard Wells. Chef, are you ready for question number two?
Chef Jernard Wells [00:08:32] Yes, bring it. I’m feeling good.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:08:34] He’s feeling good. You’re doing great. Okay, question number two, this actor, filmmaker, playwright and entrepreneur opened the country’s first Black owned film studio, and it has no proprietary partners or corporate backing, making it the first of its kind. Who is the man responsible for this historic accomplishment?
Chef Jernard Wells [00:08:54] Would that be Tyler Perry.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:08:57] You are correct. You’re two for two, Chef. Tyler Perry Studios opened in 2019 and the 330 acres houses 12 different soundstages, making it the largest film production studio in the United States. Located in Atlanta. The studio is larger than Walt Disney Studios, the Warner Brothers and Paramount Studios combined. And just up the road in Macon, Georgia, an exhibit dedicated to Perry is being featured at the Tubman African-American Museum. It will run through 2025, and it tells the life story of Tyler Perry, including childhood photos and even some of the performance costumes he wore as a child. So, Chef, I know you’ve worked with Tyler Perry in the past. Tell us about that and what his work means to you and to Atlanta.
Chef Jernard Wells [00:09:42] You know, it was truly an amazing experience to garner the opportunity to work with Tyler Perry. One of the things that I believe in speaking things into exist. And when I saw Tyler Perry on the rise and really achieved so much I look at it as not only is he achieving greatness for himself, but he’s paving the way for us and for others that come behind that desire to do what he’s doing to anything in our own paths that this shows us that it is possible, especially when you grow up in a world that would tend to look like it’s not possible. And I remember Tyler Perry I I’d heard on the radio at the time I was in Chattanooga, Tennessee, that Tyler Perry was coming to do a play Madea’s Big Happy Family. I reached out to the team at the auditorium where he was because I had no way of reaching out to Tyler and his team and I tell them, Hey, I hear Tyler is coming here to do a show, I would love to cook for Tyler Perry because I said, Oh, yeah, an amazing, amazing accolade to have on my resume one day and who knows where this man is going because he’s on fire. So those are, as they always say, it’s about synergy. If you attach if you put yourself in a room four successful, guess what? You can be the fifth successful person because it’s a synergy.
Chef Jernard Wells [00:11:07] So I reached out to the and told him, I want to write this free me up. Very. I said, But I need you to let me so I want to cook you all great. And if you like the food and you enjoy the meal, could you please reach out to his team and tell them I want to provide the same courtesy. So I did that. They enjoyed the meal. They reached out to to him. About a month later, I get a call from Tyler’s road manager. He said that, hey, we were. We heard that you wanted to provide this free lunch for Tyler Perry and his team. I said, Yes, that’s true, He said, But before agreeing to that, do you know how many people Tyler Perry’s group? I said, no, but this is something that I want to do. He was like, Well, there is 150 people. They had three tour busses because he had actors, he had people that builds stages, that breaks down the stages. The whole nine. I thinking to myself, Oh my goodness. What have I gotten myself into? But I want to do it because I believe in seeing things through. He said, Great. Tyler was hoping that you said yes because people tend to reach out and want to do things with Tyler and they always want to charge, they always want some kind of monetary gain.
[00:12:18] I said, No, I don’t. I just want to be it. I want to cook. I don’t want you to buy my service and the experience. He said, Great. Tyler said not only working his sip your free lunch, but Tyler would like to purchase breakfast, dinner and a snack. I am thinking, Oh my goodness. This is the blessing within itself. I wasn’t expecting that. And after that, I always say treat every opportunity as it’s last. We did our thing. At the end of the day, they enjoyed the meal. So they came back to say, Hey, how would you like to travel with us? So when Tyler was doing plays in the Southeast, they would give me the location. I’d build the team out. We would show up at the auditorium, transform the room into a full dining experience for his entertainment and for his team to come in and eat. The whole nine. And he ended up turning into something bigger than what I envisioned he would. That’s why I always say never be afraid to think outside the box. Just get out.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:13:20] I mean, Chef, what I hear you’re saying also is one that just fortune favors the bold. But you really also took an investment in yourself and your talent and really put yourself out there. Just to see what the universe could provide. And here we are.
Chef Jernard Wells [00:13:34] I know, right?
Dr. Christina Greer [00:13:35] I mean, good is you know, and I think I want you to sort of tell us then a little bit more about your journey from sort of work with Tyler Perry and what’s really amazing is there’s so many people who have stories like that about Tyler Perry and how he’s given them, you know, a leg up and opened up a door because he’s been able to open up so many doors for so many different people. But transition from that experience to about your show on Cleo TV geared towards a Black audience, geared towards sort of being your best self and giving and, you know, showing up and and really having the courage to show up as your full self.
Chef Jernard Wells [00:14:09] Yes. And that is true. You know, so often do we tend to watch TV, watch the media, and then we start trying to build these characters of self that the world wants to see when really at the end of the day, what the world is looking for, your authentic you. And that’s what I always said. I wanted to come off as my authentic me. Although I was born and raised earlier, part of my years in Chicago, I got a Southern accent living in Mississippi that I couldn’t get rid of if wanted. I learned to embrace those things, you know, I learned to build on those. And although I built a strong platform in starting out from a lot a lot of people that know me from our Food Network day, walking away from Food Network stars, the runner up and becoming a a sitting judge all on Chopped Junior and then from there being a contributor of The Best Things I Ever Ate. But I had a strong person that was always in my back, which was Kathy Hughes, the founder of TV one and Cleo TV, who has always mentored me. Because it’s true.
[00:15:17] I think it’s great to have those that have paved the way to sow back into you and Ms. Hughes sowing into me and building into me, who knew one day that Cleo TV, the network for millennial women of color, would come into existence. I’m thinking here I have this strong following that I built in the food scene, there was nothing more valuable and precious then taking that ability and put it on Cleo TV to sow into our people, so our culture can see that someone that looks like the and sounds like them, cooks like them; we can do this on a big scale because we always been doing. If you go back, we were talking about Gumbo and Okra. We know Okra came from Africa during the slave trade. This was the one tangible ingredient that Africans brought in that was so, so resilient that Okra managed to grow here in Western civilization, the same as it was doing in Africa. But we were the ones that was doing all the cooking, if you want to take this thing back. As slaves, we were cooking in a big house and the field house. So by virtue of the fact everyone was eating our cuisine, it wasn’t until money and success became involved in it that the culture started being stripped away from us. And we were paying it on, oh, oh if you see an African American and so on a color, the only thing that they can cook is soul food or either they can barbecue. Well, the truth of the matter soul food real name is American cuisine because it was a cultured of food and recipes that was derived and created here in America by our hands that was fed to everyone around the world and the culture as we know it. So that’s why I take so much pride in New Soul Kitchen and creating food content through my amazing production company, Powerhouse Productions now.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:17:14] Oh, Powerhouse Productions. I love that. And so tell us a little bit more about what people can expect on your show this season.
Chef Jernard Wells [00:17:22] What people can really expect from me is stepping out of the realm and really cooking food that we love to cook. And I always want to drive in the point that when we, as African-Americans cook food, all our food is not, as they call it, fried, died and laid to the side. We ea and create more and we eat more vegetation than anyone else because we were the ones that was growing it. If you even look in South Carolina, at one point the African-Americans doing there, theywas harvested and growing whole rice than anywhere in the world. We was selling rice back over into Asia. And now when you think of rice and things like that, you think it comes from over there. But at one point the most rice is being produced by us, by our hands. And we still create some of the greatest grain, some of the greatest crops, and we cook more vegetation than anyone else. So our style of cuisine just cause– don’t get me wrong now, I love a good fried chicken.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:18:24] That’s right.
Chef Jernard Wells [00:18:26] Sweet fried chicken all day long. But we can create a lot more. And that’s what I’m doing on the show, is showing people how we step outside of the box when it comes to cooking and create great food with less of the fat, less of the lards, less of the sugar, less of the processed things. Just getting back to the basics and doing it in a fraction of the time.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:18:46] Right. And, you know, as we learn more about Black farmers, as you know, living in New York, seeing the backhouse of certain restaurants, most restaurants, the diversity that exists there and all the different cultures and cuisines that are brought in. I love what you’re doing, and I cannot wait for people to check out the show. Time for a quick break. We’ll be right back. Okay, Chef, are you ready for question number three?
Chef Jernard Wells [00:19:06] Yes. Yes.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:19:07] You are doing very well. Okay. Question number three. During the Jim Crow era of segregation, this Miami, Florida, hotel hosted some of the most prominent Black figures in America, including Nat King Cole, Muhammad Ali, Dr. Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Aretha Franklin and Jackie Robinson. What is the name of this place?
Chef Jernard Wells [00:19:28] That would be the historic Hampton House.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:19:33] Look at you.
Chef Jernard Wells [00:19:35] Which is now an amazing museum, might I add. So if you haven’t experienced it, you have to experience it. The culture is amazing inside.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:19:45] So the historic Hampton house, which Chef got correct, It’s because Black people weren’t allowed to stay in most hotels in Miami Beach. Black celebrities like Sammy Davis Jr would perform in popular clubs and the return to the Hampton House to stay. The historic Inn had 50 rooms, a jazz club, a restaurant and a pool. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr was famously photographed there wearing swim trunks. And after winning his first heavyweight championship in 1964 and speaking his famous line, I am the greatest, Muhammad Ali returned to Hampton House to celebrate, reportedly hanging out with Malcolm X and eating ice cream. Now, Chef, my dad is from Miami. His older brother, who’s now 85, used to have a special pass to even go on the beach to work on the beach. That’s how segregated Miami used to be. And as you mentioned, the Hampton House is now a museum. And you were selected as a celebrity chef at the historic location, which hosted a six part supper club series. I want you to tell us all about that. And what was it like knowing that you were in a space filled with so much Black history?
Chef Jernard Wells [00:20:48] It was beyond amazing just walking in the doors because you can still feel that energy in the building. And that is so true. I stared at the picture hanging on a wall of Martin Luther King and the swimming pool, which blew my mind because, you know, when I think I Have a Dream, Martin Luther King, it’s always suit and tie, but to see.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:21:11] It’s serious, right?
Chef Jernard Wells [00:21:11] Yeah, but to see him hang no shirt on, hanging out in the pool. One of the things that that really shares, that picture shares that not only was he a great man that paved the way for so many of us, but also he was a human being, because too often do we get so caught up in the movement and the mission that we stopped seeing the person, we stopped seeing them as the person or the human being. They had a life. They enjoyed it. They took pleasure in enjoying life. And those things really stood out to me. But then also going into the room, the hotel room they still have done. What Malcolm X was in, what Muhammad Ali sitting on those beds, seeing what what it look like. It’s truly amazing and just breathtaking. I recommend anyone to experience that. But to have that opportunity to transform the outside corridors where the swimming pool is, we transformed that into a gourmet gala for that six part series. I had the opportunity of cooking for and with Chaka Khan, Eric Bennet, and the list just goes on and on. But these one night under the stars in Miami just it just it takes your breath away and to pair an ambiance like that, great music and great food, what better place to do it than at the historic Hampton House?
Dr. Christina Greer [00:22:43] I don’t know what would be better than that. I mean to feel the energy of, you know, our ancestors in that space. I am so excited. We’re going to take a quick commercial break. I’m here with Chef Jernard Wells, we are talking all things Black history and good culinary Black experiences.
Panama Jackson [00:23:00] I’m Touré. Join us for crazy true stories about stars who I really hung out with like Snoop, Jay-Z, Prince, Kanye and the time I got kidnapped by Suge Knight. Don’t miss my animated series Star Stories with Touré from theGrio Black Podcast Network.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:23:27] Okay, I’m back. I’m here with Chef Jernard Wells. Chef, you are doing swimmingly. How you feeling?
Chef Jernard Wells [00:23:33] I’m feeling good.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:23:33] Question number four. This James Beard award winning chef is known for his Afro Asian-American dishes, and before becoming a chef, he was a professional opera singer and won both a Grammy and a Tony Award. Who is he?
Chef Jernard Wells [00:23:50] That would be Alexander Smalls.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:23:55] That is correct. So Chef Smalls has also written several cookbooks, one of them dedicated to the southern cuisine he grew up on. He’s appeared on several cooking shows, including Top Chef. Chef Smalls is two restaurants in New York City. One of them, The Cecil, was named Best New Restaurant in America back in 2014. And I will say The Cecil has some amazing fried Okra. In 2021, he opened, and you might need to help me pronounce it. Alkebulan.
Chef Jernard Wells [00:24:19] Yes.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:24:20] Okay. So he opened Alkebulan, the first African dining hall in the world. It’s located in Dubai and features seven African chefs. He calls it a celebration of African cuisine. And there are plans to open a similar dining hall in Harlem, New York. So I know you’re a big fan of Asian cuisine. Have you ever gotten to try any of Chef Smalls dishes and have you met him and worked with him?
Chef Jernard Wells [00:24:43] No, I never met Chef Smalls in person. I am affiliated with a protege, a mentee that he started off by the name Chef JJ. Has a restaurant in New York by the name FieldTrip and to my knowledge, I think Chef JJ may have started out under Chef Smalls with The Cecil. And also Chef JJ had this show thats on Cleo TV by the name of Just Eats. I like I like shamelessly plugging my brothers and sisters as well. But to see his work and know that he worked with Alexander Smalls also speaks highly of Alexander Smalls vision and what he creates. As a matter of fact, they wrote a book together, I think it’s Between Heaven and Harlem or something like that. Very good cookbook that I have. But just to see what Alexander Smalls has created, I think is amazing and it shows that we are multitalented. Because when you talk about opera, and you talk about food, who typically can think to put those two together. But it’s an art form and that’s what culinary art is. As I tell people, we’re painting a picture without plate and we’re so diverse, we’re more than just chefs in what we do. We’re human beings that I always tell people, because people tend to think that the only conversation they can have with me is just about food. And I’m like, No, I think my repertoire of conversational pieces goes beyond that. And that’s a testament to Chef Smalls and what what he contributed to the food scene around the world, not just New York. Because so much talent comes out of the NYC as well. So and, and I hang in New York a lot. So I love my New York brothers and sisters.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:26:36] Well, you said the wrong thing because I’m going to have you come over here to Brooklyn and put together some of these grandmas hot skillets and see waht you do with my grandmother’s pots.
Chef Jernard Wells [00:26:44] I got you.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:26:46] Now. Speaking of hot pots, what is your favorite Asian dish to prepare?
Chef Jernard Wells [00:26:52] Oh, my goodness. I think I would have to say my favorite Asian dish is the crispy honey chicken. Odd story, when I finished culinary school years ago, my culinary instructor convinced me that I should travel around the world and really learn about the food culture. And they call it starving now. But during that time it was just traveling abroad and working for chefs for free So and I was working in exchange for knowledge. And I and I met a Filipino and a Malaysian family. They taught me so much about the culture and and really how they keep their recipes so sacred to them. See the way our culture is, we know, we always give it out everything. You know, we give out everything. We even take our money out of our communities and spend it elsewhere. But the Asian culture, they really keep everything in, even their recipes. So to be taken in as a family member and for them to teach me that style at cooking was truly a blessing because it put me in a genre and in a style of cooking that a lot of African Americans aren’t in. Not only am I’m not saying I’m just taking this this Asian recipe and running it, but I’d be taught by the culture. As a matter of fact, eight years ago we opened the Asian restaurant out in downtown Atlanta by the name of East Way Asian Fusion opened up with that family. To say the least. But I think my favorite dish is the crispy honey chicken. It’s just something about that. The kids with the crispy honey chicken, you don’t use chicken breasts. You use chicken thighs because the dark meat is flavorful and just as tender. You don’t batter it with flour, you batter it with cornstarch. Cornstarch and a little water. And that’s what gives you that nice good crunchy coating. And then from there you take soy sauce, sesame oil in honey and blended together to make that crisp, that honey base that you got to fry your thighs in. And then toss them in there, in a wok, finish it off sesame seeds and serve it over a good fried rice. Can’t go wrong any day of the week.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:29:04] Well, I hope our listeners finish this podcast because I’m about to just hang up on you real bad and go try this recipe. It’s amazing. Oh, that sounds absolutely delicious. Okay, chef, you ready for question number five before we get to the Lightning Round?
Chef Jernard Wells [00:29:17] Yes.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:29:17] Question number five This Atlanta based female artist and educator is famous for sharing African and African-American traditions from the female perspective. She’s the founder of the New Freedom Project that creates public art in communities affected by gentrification. You can find several murals painted by her all across Atlanta. Who is she?
Chef Jernard Wells [00:29:39] Oh, my goodness. I think you may have. When we say artist, we talking about artists on the painting or music side?
Dr. Christina Greer [00:29:47] Murals.
Chef Jernard Wells [00:29:48] Murals.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:29:48] She’s a painter and she’s the founder of the New Freedom Project.
Chef Jernard Wells [00:29:52] I’m going to have to hop in my truck and take a ride over the city because I don’t like being on the know. I’m lost. You got me.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:29:59] So it’s Charmaine Minniefield and Charmaine has spent more than 20 years serving the Atlanta arts community. She’s also taught at Spelman College and Freedom University, which is an underground university for undocumented students. So I know you live in Atlanta, Chef. And so for our listeners who’ve never visited there, can you explain sort of the significance for you for living in a place that celebrates Black history, Black people, their talents? We’ve got so many HBCUs there. You’ve got a culinary scene. You’ve got an art scene. You know, I’ve got a good friend who works for Project South, which is, you know, grassroots organizing, linking young people to older organizers. And they’re doing work all across not just Atlanta, but the South and even on the continent of Africa. So what’s what’s special about Atlanta? You know, you’ve you’ve lived in Chicago, you’ve lived in Mississippi. You know, your family could settle anywhere. Why Atlanta?
Chef Jernard Wells [00:30:53] Well, first off, let me give a hats off to Charmaine, for continuing to beautify the city and thank you for enlightening me on who’s behind that. But I think Atlanta is truly an amazing melting pot of a culture of people that are all driving for success. And when I talk about success, I’m not just talking about monetary success. I’m talking about the history and the cultural success part of allowing people, regardless of what color you are when you come to Atlanta, you going to know that Atlanta is ran by the African-American culture. You going to see it. See us at the forefront of what we do, whether it’s from the murals to the colleges to our mayor, to the rest. But also we we possess the ability here in Atlanta to to dive into other cultures and not be afraid to mix and mingle and bring essence and an experience of what we envision the new South should look like or what it should look like. And I think Atlanta is that beacon because it’s a lot of African-Americans, Brown and others there that are in the South that need someone to represent them to their fullest. And that’s what Atlanta does. Even from the food scene. We have some of the most diverse food palate scenes in Atlanta and the surrounding areas. Whether it’s brunch, whether it’s seafood or whether you want to go African, Caribbean, Cajun, you name it, you’ll see us at the forefront of it and creating this mecca of a food tour experience. And so if you ever want to get in touch with your culture, I have to say that Atlanta is definitely one of the places that you want to be. It should be on your bucket list to vist. I know we talking about going to the beaches or going islands and all of that. But if you ever want to experience the culture within it’s fullest, come visit us in Atlanta.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:33:05] You should be in the tourism bureau, because from the recipes that you’ve given us today and the way you’ve laid out how you conceptualize food and think of it as a community building exercise, I think our listeners, especially the ones in Atlanta, are incredibly lucky to have such a vibrant culinary scene. We’re going to take a quick commercial break. I’m here with Chef Jernard Wells, we’re talking all things food and culture. We’ll be right back. Okay, Chef, we are back. It is time for the Black Lightning Round. You’ve done swimmingly for our listeners who are just joining us, we are playing the Blackest Questions with Chef Jernard Wells. It is time for the Black bonus round. Are you ready?
Chef Jernard Wells [00:33:43] I am ready.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:33:44] Okay, So in this round, you just tell me the first thing that pops to your head. There are no right or wrong answers, and we’ll go from there.
Chef Jernard Wells [00:33:50] All right.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:33:51] Okay. If you had to choose, what’s your favorite Southern dish?
Chef Jernard Wells [00:33:56] Fried chicken all day.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:33:58] Okay. See, I’m a fried fish girl. Are you drinking sweet tea or lemonade?
Chef Jernard Wells [00:34:06] Arnold Palmer. Sweet tea and lemonade.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:34:07] Yeah, that’s right.
Chef Jernard Wells [00:34:09] Perfect combo.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:34:10] And in Baltimore, they call it a half and half.
Chef Jernard Wells [00:34:12] Yup.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:34:12] Which I love. What’s your favorite thing to do in Atlanta?
Chef Jernard Wells [00:34:17] My favorite thing to do and a, I would have to aren’t jogging a lot, so I love climbing Stone Mountain with my family. And we try to do that at least once every 2 weeks.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:34:31] Oh wow.
Chef Jernard Wells [00:34:31] Yes. Because when you get to the top the view is amazing. And it’s not climbing, so for those that are not here in Atlanta. It’s not climbing like with a rope, it’s actually a mountain that you walk up. It’s literally probably about a mile and a half, two miles high in the air. It’s a journey, but it’s all concrete. Hence the name Stone Mountain. But when you get to the top, you can see several states, you can see all the different points. Atlanta has three, they have Buckhead, midtown and downtown. So it’s a beautiful view.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:35:07] Oh, can’t wait. Okay, ham sandwich or a turkey sandwich?
Chef Jernard Wells [00:35:11] Turkey sandwich all day.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:35:13] All day. What celebrity are you dying to cook for?
Chef Jernard Wells [00:35:17] Who would I be dying to cook for right now? I would have to say I would love to cook for Jay-Z and Beyonce.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:35:26] All right, let’s put it out there. Let’s manifest right here on Blackest Questions. Okay. One has to go; mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, collard greens.
Chef Jernard Wells [00:35:35] Mashed potatoes. Gone all day. I got to have cheese and my collards.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:35:41] That’s right. And for me, I have to have some hot sauce on top.
Chef Jernard Wells [00:35:43] You better believe it.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:35:45] Okay. At Thanksgiving, sweet potato pie or pumpkin pie?
Chef Jernard Wells [00:35:48] Sweet potato.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:35:49] That’s right. All day long.
Chef Jernard Wells [00:35:50] We get ran up out of here with the pumpkin pie.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:35:53] Listen. Listen. And I translated my grandmother’s sweet potato pie recipe because, you know, she didn’t have it written down. So I sort of took the whole, like, Well, add a little more. How’s does it feel? So, you know, I wrote it down somehow and translated, thank goodness. Okay, last question. What’s your favorite Tyler Perry movie?
Chef Jernard Wells [00:36:10] Why Did I Get Married?
Dr. Christina Greer [00:36:12] Okay, well, listen, Chef, I want to thank you so much for joining us on the Blackest Questions. And I want to make sure our listeners don’t forget to check out New Soul Kitchen on Cleo TV every Wednesday at 930 Eastern Standard Time. And also check out Chef’s new cookbook, right?
Chef Jernard Wells [00:36:30] Yes.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:36:31] You’ve got several, but the latest one, Southern Inspired. We got to make sure we support our friends here at the Blackest Questions. Chef, thank you so much for joining us. Please promise you’ll come back.
Chef Jernard Wells [00:36:40] I sure will. Any time.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:36:43] All right. Thank you all for listening to the Blackest Questions. This show is produced by Sasha Armstrong and Geoffrey Trudeau. And Regina Griffin is our director of podcast. If you like what you heard, subscribe to this podcast so you never miss an episode. You can find more on theGrio Black Podcast Network on theGrio app, website and YouTube.
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