Item 13: An African Food Podcast Heritage Radio Network

Dr. Wanida Lewis is the Founder and CEO of Crescendo Foods, Ghana and West Africa’s first shared commercial kitchen co-working hub located in Accra, Ghana. Dr. Lewis has over ten years’ experience leading initiatives and strategic partnerships throughout the African continent. She has a BS in Chemistry from Saint Augustine’s University, an MS in Analytical Chemistry from North Carolina Central University, and a PhD in Food Science from North Carolina State University.

Find Crescendo Foods on Instagram (@crescendo_foods) and online at crescendogh.com

Photo Courtesy of Wanida Lewis

A Queens, NY native, Nkem Oghedo is the founder of Adá, a community & online destination for global Black food culture. Previously, she worked in management consulting and served as the Chief of Staff of wellness tech startup, Care/of. Her professional mission is to create equitable economies in which Black communities thrive. She holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Yale University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Find Adá online: https://www.withada.co/

And on Instagram @adaexperiences

Born in Accra, Ghana but raised in the American South, food was always a large part of Selasie's life. For the past 5 years, Chef Selasie has worked at several well-known fine dining restaurants across the San Francisco - Bay area such as Bird Dog, Mourad, SPQR, Avery and Lazy Bear. She currently works as the Chef de Cuisine at Hi Felicia in downtown Oakland, California.

Selasie has also started 2 pop-up dinner series during her time in the Bay. Elade Test Kitchen is a dinner series highlighting modern Ghanaian cuisine. This series focuses on the flavors and food she grew up eating; as well as explore how West African flavors and ingredients influenced the African diaspora. A Hard Pill to Swallow is another dinner series meant to acknowledge, showcase, and support Black folks in the beverage, culinary, restaurant and hospitality industries and services. Both dinner series are a celebration of Black folks, our foodways and our contributions to the food world.

Find Selasie and her work on on Instagram:

@sdotse89
@elade_tk
@a_hard_pill_to_swallow

After over a decade spent engaged in humanitarian work with the United Nations and years of self-teaching in the culinary arts, Selassie Atadika completed course work at the Culinary Institute of America. Her company Midunu, a nomadic and private dining enterprise in Accra embodies ‘New African Cuisine’. It celebrates culinary heritage where culture, community and cuisine intersect with environment, sustainability and economy by employing local, seasonal, and underutilized ingredients including traditional grains and proteins to deliver Africa’s bounty to the table. Chef Selassie Atadika uses Ghanaian cocoa and chocolate as a base to feature the flavors and essence of Africa. She launched The Midunu Institute which looks to document and preserve the continent’s culinary heritage. She was a finalist in the 2019 Basque Culinary World Prize, within the top 100 in the Best Chef Awards 2020 - 2021 and 2021 recipient of the La Liste New Destination Champion Award for Africa.

Find Midunu Chocolates online and on Instagram.

DISCOUNT CODE for Item 13 listeners for 10% off your order of Midunu Chocolates: ITEM1310

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This week we're re-broadcasting our episode with Mrs. Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli, co-founder of AACE Foods and an expert on social innovation, African agriculture and nutrition, entrepreneurship, and youth development.

Ndidi has over 25 years of international development experience and is a recognized serial entrepreneur, author, public speaker, and consultant. Through her work in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors, she has shaped policy and led the design and execution of high-impact initiatives focused on strategy, organizational design, ecosystem solutions, and growth. Mrs. Nwuneli serves on the boards of the Rockefeller Foundation, the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), AGRA, Nigerian Breweries Plc. (Heineken), Godrej Consumer Products Ltd. India, Fairfax Africa Holdings Canada, Royal DSM Sustainability Board, Netherlands, and the African Philanthropy Forum. She previously served on the Boards of Nestle Nigeria Plc., the World Vegetable Center and Cornerstone Insurance Plc.

As the co-founder of AACE Foods, which produces a range of packaged spices, seasonings, and cereals for local and international markets, Mrs. Nwuneli has propelled the growth of a catalytic business. As the founder of Nourishing Africa, a digital home for food and agriculture entrepreneurs operating on the African Continent, she is accelerating the growth of the ecosystem and supporting entrepreneurs in 35 African countries. Her latest start-up is Changing Narratives Africa committed to changing global mindsets about Africa by showcasing the Continent’s contributions to the world through the pioneering work of her dynamic people, their innovations, and products.

Ndidi’s book, “Food Entrepreneurs in Africa: Scaling Resilient Agriculture Businesses” is available on www.sahelconsult.com/feia on Amazon, and the Routledge website.

Find Ndidi’s work online: Changing Narratives AfricaAACE FoodsSahel Consulting

Photo credit to Ndidi Nwuneli.

This week's guest is Edwina Morgan of Waakye Leaf.

The idea for Waakye Leaf was born out of a genuine love for building cultural bridges by sharing traditional African culinary knowledge with the world in the most creative and innovative ways in order to provoke, delight and rouse interest.

Established in 2008 by Edwina Morgan, Waakye Leaf is now considered one of London’s leading boutique afro-fusion caterers. They are passionate about creating enjoyable and memorable experiences through food, while setting new standards for quality and excellence. From mouth-watering canapés, delicious bowl food, themed supper clubs to luxury banquets, they offer a truly bespoke service and take pride in working with each of their clients to realize the client's vision.

Find Waakye Leaf online: https://www.waakyeleaf.co.uk/ and on Instagram @waakyeleaf