A spirit of curiosity has led Chef Andrew Black to become a James Beard Award-winning chef. Black’s journey traces back to his roots in Jamaica. As a child , he assisted his grandmother by creating outdoor clay ovens to bake roti, a staple flatbread in the country, his website mentions. Pursuing a career as a chef, he later worked in various resort kitchens and eventually left Jamaica to work in restaurants across Europe. He would then receive a nudge to make his way to the United States, notes CBS Mornings. “I wanted to try to find myself where would I fit in, and so I got a call to come to Oklahoma City and I said where the heck is that,” he recalled to the outlet. After initially rejecting the idea of moving to Oklahoma City, he eventually had a change of heart. “When someone see you an Oklahoman shake your hand and say, ‘They’re going to be there,’ they mean it. A word is our bond here. It’s absolutely one of the best state and the best place to live in,” Black told CBS...

The American foodscape has proven to be a fruitful industry full of opportunities for Black and brown entrepreneurs. To celebrate the country’s forward-thinking food leaders, the James Beard Foundation — a nonprofit that acknowledges, nurtures, and honors chefs and other leaders in American food culture — has launched a new grant initiative to help provide financial resources for Black and indigenous-owned food or beverage businesses impacted by COVID-19. View this post on Instagram A post shared by James Beard Foundation (@beardfoundation) According to Black Enterprise , the James Beard Foundation Food and Beverage Investment Fund will offer grant funds to several businesses across the country. In partnership with their Open For Good campaign, which launched back in April, the foundation’s latest initiative is working to “rebuild an independent restaurant industry that is stronger, more equitable, more sustainable, and more resilient post-pandemic,” according to their blog . “The...