When you examine the flavors and history of food in the United States, one thing becomes clear: Large swaths of American cuisine as we know it today — particularly that of the South — are indelibly marked by the contributions of African Americans.

This month in Richmond, those contributions, the unique culinary history of Virginia and the work of contemporary Black chefs will be celebrated at The Function, a barbecue and fish fry at Shalom Farms organized by Nikki Gregory and Paul Polk of Charlotte’s Southern Deli, alongside local food writer James L. Ford III. 

Rabia Kamara

 

The Function will be held Saturday, Sept. 27 from 2 to 6 p.m. at Shalom Farms in North Side, highlighting Virginia’s culinary traditions and some of the most talented Black chefs from Richmond and beyond. 

Participants include Leah Branch of The Roosevelt, Mike Lindsey of Lillie Pearl, Rabia Kamara of Ruby Scoops, Justin Ross of JC Desserts, James Beard nominees Oscar Johnson and Shenarri Freeman, Black Olive Pizzeria’s Rashad Thompson and pit master Reggie Green, as well as Gregory and Polk, among others. 

Mike Lindsey

 

“We wanted to create something where people are there to talk about the food,” Polk says. “This is an experience where no one is saying they’re running to get food real quick, they’re there to focus on coming together around food.” 

“You watch tastings in shows like ‘Top Chef’ and you think, ‘Where is an event like that?’” Gregory adds. “Where everyone is dressed up, slightly buzzed, just having a good time? That’s what we’re putting together.” 

The day’s two focal points — barbecue and fish fry — stem from African American foodways and culinary traditions dating back hundreds of years. 

The Function will be taking over Shalom Farms — a regular host of the RVA Black Farmers Market — and will also include music, games, a vegetable-focused cooking demonstration from Jason Muckle and a live talk on African American foodways and the history of barbecue by food anthropologist and writer Debra Freeman, who argues that the first U.S. barbecue originated right here in Virginia. 

In addition to whole-hog barbecue, attendees can expect dishes like lion’s mane mushroom pie, a grazing board with pickled seafood and hog’s feet, watermelon donuts and more. 

The event reflects each of the three founders’ lifelong passions for food, shaped by culinary upbringings that were both distinct and overlapping. 

Ford, a native of Smithfield, says his family was “big into both seafood and pigs” (his cousins will provide The Function’s whole hog) and that he started cooking at a young age under the tutelage of his two grandmothers. 

Polk, whose father was a longtime waterman, says seafood was so common that getting blue crab on an average Tuesday was routine; dried and salt fish were staples, and his grandmother was a prolific canner. 

“This was created out of a want to celebrate everything that we’re eating and what it represents,” Ford says. 

Gregory, whose father was an executive chef and whose grandfather’s West Virginia roots brought an Appalachian influence, says she treasures family recipes and culinary heirlooms, including a recipe for apple butter, her grandmother’s copper kettle and a mixing paddle that belonged to her great-great-grandfather. 

“I’m really looking forward to the fellowship,” Gregory says. “We’re looking forward to the community that’s going to come from this.” 

The Function takes place Saturday, Sept. 27 at Shalom Farms, 1311 Westwood Ave. 

This story originally appeared at StyleWeekly.com.