(As part of our work to present food cultures of the African diaspora through language, this episode is available in French only. However, you can read about the upcoming The Sommet & Festival International des Chefs Créoles in Reunion on Cuisine Noir).

Ceci est un épisode spécial du podcast de Diaspora Food Stories en Français avec l'animatrice invitée Madalena Pedro Miala en conversation avec Jean-Charles Bertrand, restaurateur et fondateur du Sommet & Festival International des Chefs Créoles, le premier festival culinaire créole de la Réunion qui aura lieu entre le 22 mai – 24 mai.

La Réunion est peut-être une nouvelle destination pour beaucoup, mais elle a une histoire vaste et puissante qui prendra le devant de la scène grâce à la nourriture dans moins d'un mois.

Au cours de cet épisode, Jean-Charles partage ce qui fait de la Réunion une île à découvrir et explorer, ainsi que comment la diversité de ses habitants a non seulement façonné la culture, mais aussi la façon dont la nourriture porte l'histoire et les traditions, en particulier la cuisine créole.

Avec des chefs venant d'Europe, des Caraïbes et d'autres régions intermédiaires, Jean-Charles nous présente les points forts de l'événement qui ajouteront et feront monter la Réunion sur votre liste de voyage.

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Reunion Island Creole Gastronomy With Its First Creole Food Festival

Zella Palmer, is an author, professor, filmmaker, curator, scholar and the Chair and Director of the Dillard University Ray Charles Program in African-American Material Culture in New Orleans, Louisiana. Palmer is committed to documenting and preserving the legacy African American, Creole, Indigenous and LatinX culinary history. As the Chair of the Dillard University Ray Charles Program, Palmer filmed and produced the Story of New Orleans Creole Cooking: The Black Hand in the Pot documentary. In 2020, under Palmer's leadership, Dillard University launched a Food Studies Minor at Dillard University.

Her latest publications, Recipes and Remembrances of Fair Dillard: 1869-2019 (University of Louisiana at Lafayette Press) and James Beard Foundation Semi-Finalist (U.S. Foodways) Ed Mitchell's Barbeque (Harper Collins, June 2023) shares some of her rich research and she released her latest documentary Grenada to the World in August 2025.

Zella is extending her legacy through her work advising higher education institutions, museums, and tourism ministries on integrating artificial intelligence while safeguarding culture, memory, and human meaning. In alignment with her professional work, she is also studying to become an herbal physician, answering a deeply ancestral calling.

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Sheri Raleigh is a prominent chef Instructor and the owner of Cast Iron Skillet Culinaire, LLC, based in Waco, Texas. She has made significant contributions to the culinary world as the founder of the Gifts From The Ancestors Foodways Project and the author of two notable works, "Okra & Tomatoes" and "Creole Celebrations."

With a rich background in cross-cultural education, Sheri offers community cooking classes across various sectors, including education, hospitality, and healthcare. Her business, Cast Iron Skillet Culinaire, is dedicated to delivering "culinary edutainment" and fostering team-building experiences, with a particular focus on Creole cuisine.

She is also the founder of the Lawrence J. and Viola M. Raleigh Hospitality Scholarship in honor of her parents at Northwestern State University in Louisiana, which is current accepting donations to ensure it is fully endowed by the end of this year.

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Learn more and donate to the Lawrence J. and Viola M. Raleigh Hospitality Scholarship.