Doreen Irungu is the founder of Ustawi Afrika, an amazing organization that trains women farmers around food sovereignty and sustainability. To date, her organization has worked with thousands of women and continues to champion women's contributions to agriculture in Kenya. Her work has transformed the livelihoods of over 10,000 women farmers, significantly improving food security, economic independence, and resilience to climate change across Kenya’s semi-arid regions.

Born in rural Kenya to parents who are coffee farmers, Doreen saw first-hand the hard work and also the impact of farming and its ability to put food on the table and support additional needs of families such as education. These early experiences helped to shape how she wanted to build and help communities, especially women farmers.

She is also a co-author of the book, "We Took a Risk," a book highlighting the bold steps women take to create transformative change in business and leadership.

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Diaspora Food Stories is produced by The Global Food and Drink Initiative, a 501c3 nonprofit. Together with your generous donation we can continue to preserve the oral history and culture of Black food and drink stories both in English and other languages spoken throughout the African diaspora. To donate, visit globalforgood.org.

Website: Diaspora Food Stories

Episode Sponsor

Hayti

Nigerian chef Gbolabo Gibbs Adebakin, known simply as Chef Gibbs, founded the Nigeria Food Summit to host the largest gathering of chefs, restauranteurs, farmers, producers and more for an amazing day of speakers, panel discussions, master classes and networking.

Set to take place again on Friday, March 21 on Victoria Island in Lagos, Nigeria, Chef Gibbs joins us along with restauranteur and chef Nkesi Enyioha to discuss the conversations taking place as well as the work being done to amplify the rich traditions and heritage of Nigerian food culture as Nigerian cuisine continues to take its place on local and world stages.

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Related Article from Cuisine Noir

Food Summit Celebrates Nigerian Food Culture on Local and World Stages

Diaspora Food Stories is produced by The Global Food and Drink Initiative, a 501c3 nonprofit. Together with your generous donation we can continue to preserve the oral history and culture of Black food and drink stories both in English and other languages spoken throughout the African diaspora. To donate, visit globalforgood.org.

Website: Diaspora Food Stories

Episode Sponsor

Hayti

Zule Ankamah is the chef and owner of Zuleeats in Windsor, Ontario, known for her savory Ghanaian meat, veggie and vegan pies.

Once a hobby to take up time during the pandemic, the mother of 4 left her 26-year career at Caesars Windsor to start her entrepreneurial journey and hasn't looked back. Passionate about connecting others to her culture through food, foodies can enjoy Zuleeats at its location on Howard Avenue, at local retailers and at events.

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Diaspora Food Stories is produced by The Global Food and Drink Initiative, a 501c3 nonprofit. Together with your generous donation we can continue to preserve the oral history and culture of Black food and drink stories both in English and other languages spoken throughout the African diaspora. To donate, visit globalforgood.org.

Website: Diaspora Food Stories

Episode Sponsor

Hayti

If there is anything we remember from our childhood, it is food and the hands that prepared it.

For Carl Vann, it is his grandmother who he would sit and watch in the kitchen as she prepared some of the family favorites that he as an adult would later recreate. This time spent together before losing her when he was 12 would be the inspiration behind his business and app called Pass the Peaz.

The South Carolina native is on a mission to help families save their cherished recipes for the next generations while supporting food insecure individuals through its food rescue initiative.

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Diaspora Food Stories is produced by The Global Food and Drink Initiative, a 501c3 nonprofit. Together with your generous donation we can continue to preserve the oral history and culture of Black food and drink stories both in English and other languages spoken throughout the African diaspora. To donate, visit globalforgood.org.

Website: Diaspora Food Stories

Episode Sponsor

Hayti

Lenzy Ruffin is a photographer based in the Washington, DC area who began working with other small business owners looking to do videos to promote their services.

As someone who grew up in a family of amazing cooks, it was a cooking show that caught his attention one day on PBS and after watching, he set out to create one as a personal project, eventually finding a chef and producing more than 100 episodes.

With many lessons learned, he is now helping other aspiring cooking show hosts create their own magic in the kitchen for YouTube audiences around the world through his company as a cooking show advisor.

In this episode, we're talking about taking steps to get in front of the camera, one's commitment and key ingredients you'll need as a host to be successful.

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Diaspora Food Stories is produced by The Global Food and Drink Initiative, a 501c3 nonprofit. Together with your generous donation we can continue to preserve the oral history and culture of Black food and drink stories both in English and other languages spoken throughout the African diaspora. To learn more and donate, visit globalforgood.org.

Website: Diaspora Food Stories

Episode Sponsors

Hayti

San Francisco private chef turned artisan baker, Azikiwee "Z"Anderson, turned to sourdough bread baking during the COVID-19 pandemic as a creative outlet and a way to cope with the social unrest following the murder of George Floyd in 2020. After many tries and the determination to get it right, he slowly built a following among friends and family, which today includes the Bay Area and beyond as the owner of Rize Up Bakery.

Azikiwee's story starts in Louisiana with a move to California following a life-changing event for his family. What follows is a journey of creativity, self-discovery and an unexpected passion making him one of few Black artisan bakers in the field, a story he plans to tell in his upcoming book to be released in 2026.

The self-taught baker is known for creating sourdough bread that is deliciously unique with bold flavors such as Garlic confit, Sweet Purple Yam and Jalapeno Bacon and Cheddar, often selling out before the day is over.

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Hayti

Diaspora Food Stories is produced by The Global Food and Drink Initiative, a 501c3 nonprofit. Together with your generous donation we can continue to preserve the oral history and culture of Black food and drink stories both in English and other languages spoken throughout the African diaspora. To donate, visit globalforgood.org.

Website: Diaspora Food Stories

We did it! Another great year of conversations with amazing trendsetters in food, drink and travel.

We're wrapping up for the year and will return on Wednesday, January 1 with a new episode featuring Az Anderson of Rize Up Bakery in San Francisco.

Be sure to catch up on past episode and you can watch all episodes on our YouTube Channel for The Global Food and Drink Initiative, the producer of Diaspora Food Stories.

To support our work with a tax-deductible donation, go to to globalforgood.org.

Thank you and see you in 2025!

Senegalese chef Oumar Diouf's culinary journey has taken him from his home country in West Africa, to Argentina, Brazil to the United States.

Currently living in the Bay Area, Oumar is sharing how food became a way to connect with people and different food cultures. He has owned restaurants in both Argentina and the U.S. and continues to stay connected to his Senegalese roots no matter where he is, blending flavors and ingredients.

He plans to share more about his journey in his upcoming book due out in 2025.

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Related Article from Cuisine Noir

Oumar Diouf’s The Damel Scores With Afro-Brazilian Cuisine

Diaspora Food Stories is produced by The Global Food and Drink Initiative, a 501c3 nonprofit. Together with your generous donation we can continue to preserve the oral history and culture of Black food and drink stories both in English and other languages spoken throughout the African diaspora. To donate, visit globalforgood.org.

Website: Diaspora Food Stories

Episode Sponsors

Tea's Me

Hayti