Here is the Black chefs collaborative behind some of Sacramento's Juneteenth celebration dishes
SACRAMENTO — Juneteenth celebrations and good food go hand in hand. An elite team known as the Juneteenth Black Chefs Collaborative is behind this food, providing heart and soul in every bite.
Richard Pannell has been a chef for more than 40 years but he's been cooking a lot longer than that. The Sacramento native is a founding member of the Juneteenth Black Chefs Collaborative and explained what the holiday means to him.
"It just meant to pay homage to those who were slaves and opened the doors and became more independent," he told CBS Sacramento.
For the past 20 years, he's been dishing out some of his best recipes for the Sacramento Juneteenth celebrations.
"Smothered things, like smothered chicken, smothered pork chops, étouffée," Pannell said.
The collaborative was initially created to bring diversity and inclusion to Sacramento's farm-to-fork program — something Pannell said is key to any chef in the Greater Sacramento area.
"It's a great thing because that means that you're getting the fresh of the fresh and sometimes the best of the best," he said.
Another member of that elite team has her own take on black cuisine.
"I'm the vegan lady soul and I do vegan soul food," Nicole Williams said.
After changing her own diet due to health issues, Williams figured out a way to cook traditional foods while keeping wellness and nutrition in mind.
"All of my food is specialized with dietary needs so it's important for us to not only eat healthy but still keep our soul in it," she said.
Whether it's traditional or plant-based, flavorful food plays an important role in Juneteenth festivities, and it brings people together to honor and acknowledge the history of Black people in America.
"Look at that foundation of Juneteenth to keep it going so that our children, our grandchildren, and great-grandchildren and everybody will remember where they came from, where we came from," Williams said.
The Juneteenth Black Chefs Collaborative also puts on educational and wellness events. They also visit schools to show how math and science are needed to prepare food.