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| Chef Edna Lewis |
Chef Demetrius Brown, co-owner and head chef at Bread + Butterfly, is hosting the fourth annual Edna Lewis dinner at his restaurant in Inman Park. The evening will feature dishes from Maximilian Hines at executive chef at Breaker Breaker; Cleophus Hethington, lead cook at Lucia in LA; and Justin Dixon, owner of Humble Mumble a pop-up sandwich shop in Atlanta. The dinner is a testament to how Black American fare evolved under the influence of Lewis who is known as the ‘Grand Dame’ of Southern cooking.
“The overarching purpose that Edna Lewis cooked with was to bring representation to underrepresented cultures through food,” Brown says. “When you think of American food you think of things macaroni and cheese, apple pies and fried chicken. All those originated from The South and from slave hands.”
Honoring the culture
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| Chef Maximilian Hines |
“A lot of times I was the only Black person in the kitchen.” Hine says. “It’s important to find your own. So I reached out to other Black chefs doing dope things and we built a collective.”
It wasn’t until he worked as chef at the Inn at Little Washington in Virginia that he learned about Lewis. The Michelin Star restaurant has an Edna Lewis suite among other suites named after notables who impacted Patrick O'Connell, chef and owner of The Inn at Little Washington. Curious, he took the time to learn more about Lewis and now he works to keep her name alive.
Lewis was born in 1916 Virginia in the farming community of Freetown. She moved to New York City and began throwing dinner parties while a cook at Café Nicholson. The legendary dinners were attended by literary and fashion industry titans such as Tennessee Williams, Truman Capote. Richard Avedon, Gloria Vanderbilt, Marlene Dietrich and Diana Vreeland. Lewis founded the Society for the Revival and Preservation of Southern Food and championed Southern culinary traditions for the entirety of her life until she passed away in 2006.
When Hines hosts these dinners, he channels Lewis’ commitment to community saying it’s about connecting to the person across from you.
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| Guests enjoy the 2024 third annual Edna Lewis Dinner in Atlanta |
“I think what’s more important than the dollar sign is giving
people an avenue to connect with Edna Lewis Foundation and know what it is,”
Hine says. “Right now, it’s a passion project and we’re city boys just trying
to make a difference.”
A portion of the proceeds from The Edna Lewis Dinner will go to the Edna Lewis Foundation, an organization dedicated to providing opportunities to African Americans in the agriculture and culinary industries.
Hines is overseeing the starters that will include a roasted sweet potato pasta mezzaluna in a lemon butter sauce, salsa matcha with chiles and pumpkin seeds and an intermezzo with shiso leaves and a tropical fruit salad.
Lewis had a mean sweet potato game says Hines, who also noted sweet potato pie will be available for purchase after the meal.
Forging a New Path
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| Chef Demetrius Brown |
Since taking over Bread + Butterfly with co-owner Brandon Blachard, Brown has incorporated dishes from the French African Diaspora, putting a new spin on the traditional French Bistro. Brown’s menu reflects the Caribbean, Madagascar, Senegal, and even Gullah Geechee cuisine. The most popular dish is the Haitian Patti made with locally sourced beef mixed with garlic and shallots wrapped in a puff pastry. The flavor notes are influenced by the food of Trinidad & Tobago - the birthplace of Brown's fraternal grandmother. The cuisine is made of ingredients like curry, cumin, okra and callaloo with an ethos that follows the sweet and savory combinations of Thai food.
"I try to replicate it as much as possible,” Brown says “Whenever I cook anything that is the foundation of the palate.”
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| A dish featuring collard greens at Bread + Butterfly in Atlanta |
Brown is in charge of the bread service for the Edna Lewis dinner. Guests at the dinner can look forward to sweet potato rolls, Edna Lewis biscuits with “way too much butter” and heirloom cornbread with heirloom corn sourced from Mexico. For dessert he’ll be making his great-grandmother’s poundcake recipe that he describes as “super dense.” The poundcake recipe will be enhanced with brown butter and paired it with tonka bean ice cream with pecans. Tonka bean is usually added to recipes with vanilla or used as a substitute for the ingredient. Tonka bean has a more earthy taste that balances the saccharine of the ice cream with warmth.
Originally from Rhode Island, Brown wasn’t a fan of Southern food, but his thoughts changed after he began working at the Watershed under Chef Scott Peacock who was the head chef at the restaurant and a lifelong friend of Lewis. He learned about Lewis’ contributions to American culinary traditions by listening to Peacock’s stories. Soon he was converted, fully embracing southern food in unexpected ways.
“I’ve learned by proxy just from cooking at these dinners and having conversation about food in The South,” Brown continues. “Southern cuisine is all about cooking with the seasons and cooking what’s around you. It’s not indicative of a dish; it’s about how things are cooked and sourced.”
Brown says regardless of what other people say about the food you cook, it matters.
“The food of The South
has truly and honestly, influenced the food of America.”
Purchase tickets for the Edna Lewis dinner here.