Chef Enda Lewis Marker Unveiling Celebrates Multi - Year Effort to Raise Awareness of Her Achievements
By: Orange County Economic Development and Tourism
The award - winning Edna Lewis Media Event, and Menu Trail, represent a long - term collaborative effort by the Orange County Office of Economic Development and Tourism to help tell Chef Edna Lewis ’ s remarkable story and highlight Orange County ’ s black history, agriculture, and current culinary industries. The programs celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the release of Edna Lewis ’ s first cookbook – The Edna Lewis Cookbook , and were designed to focus national media attention on Lewis ’ life, drive visitation, and build awareness of the Orange County community she called home. Mrs. Lewis ’ s cookbooks are seminal works on farm - to - table dining, southern cuisine, and black history. She was a trailblazer for black women as both a chef and an author. Edna Lewis is called the Grand Dame of Southern Cooking. Through her four cookbooks and her restaurant notoriety, she introduced the world to the black history and culinary culture she grew up with in rural Orange County, Virginia. She was one of the first to talk about the seasonality of ingredients, the importance of fresh, local agriculture, and southern culinary traditions at the national level. The Media Event hosted in Orange on October 20 & 21 2022, was a tribute to her legacy and her family, as well as a tangible way to introduce mainstream media and the traveling public
Chef Edna Lewis ’
Niece, Nina Williams
Mbengue, unveils the new historic marker.
to her powerful story. In addition to the multi - course tasting menu, media representatives also experienced a full - day tour of Edna Lewis ’ Orange County. They visited her home church – where she pilgrimaged annually for revival, got a driving tour of the Freetown area with a local historian, and visited her grave in
Page 7 | May 2024
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