Historical Black Culinarians & Innovators Who Impacted the Hospitality Industry

In honor of Black History month, we’re celebrating black innovators and culinarians that have helped shape the hospitality industry and change the history of food as whole. Black chefs and inventors are responsible for refining some of the world’s most loved cuisines, inventions and foods that are now commonplace in many of our lives. Often working as personal chefs in homes or restaurants, early black chefs were trained in the art of preparing English and classic French cuisine and possessed culinary skillsets that stretched beyond the soul food cuisine that they have become most famous for. Without their significant contributions, the food industry as we know it would be significantly different in many ways. Below are just some of the stories of these incredibly talented and inspiring individuals that have impacted the way that we enjoy food:

Zephyr Wright

Zephyr Wright was a civil rights activist and personal chef for Lyndon B. Johnson for over 20 years. In 1942, Wright began working for the Johnsons as a maid and cook to help pay her way through college, but ended up staying with the Johnson family for the duration of Lyndon’s presidency. During this time (thanks to Wright), Johnson’s home quickly became known for its food, as other politicians visited regularly and built relationships over Wright’s delicious comfort dishes including chile con queso and peach cobbler. Outside of the White House, Wright was also known for her civil rights work which is thought to have influenced President Johnson’s signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Wright’s culinary contributions not only made the White House a hot-spot for political dinner parties, but also influenced reform against racial injustice.

Abby Fisher

Abby Fisher, one of the first black cookbook authors, was well-known for her Southern cooking, specifically her pickles and preserves. Born into slavery in South Carolina, Fisher learned to cook in plantation kitchens where she developed her unique cooking style. Following the Civil War, Fisher decided to move to San Francisco in order to open her own preserve business. As a former slave who could not read or write, Fisher recruited a team of writers and managed to publish her first cookbook entitled “What Mrs. Fisher Knows About Old Southern Cooking.” Published in 1881, the cookbook included a variety of southern recipes including corn fritters and okra gumbo. Fisher’s accomplishments were an inspiration- showing that despite their circumstances, black culinarians could still excel in the food and hospitality industry.

Leah Chase

Chef Leah Chase, known as the Queen of Creole Cuisine thanks to her New Orleans- based restaurant Dooky Chase. Falling in love with food at a young age, Chase entered the restaurant industry and became famous for her Creole-inspired comfort dishes including fried chicken, gumbo and red beans and rice. After marrying Edgar “Dooky” Chase Jr, Leah agreed to join her husband’s family business at Dooky Chase, one of the few restaurants in New Orleans to serve the black community. After joining the restaurant’s team, Chase revamped the menu to reflect her Creole background, becoming a hit amongst locals and even serving prominent figures such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Chase went on to become a cooking show host, cookbook author, board member at the New Orleans Museum of Art and even the inspiration behind popular Disney movie The Princess and the Frog. Leah’s influential cooking style has undoubtedly left its mark on today’s culinarians and the food industry as a whole.

Alfred L. Cralle

Alfred L. Cralle was an African American businessman and inventor who was best known for inventing the ice cream scoop in 1897. Working for his father in carpentry, Cralle became interested in mechanics at a young age. While working at a hotel, he developed the idea of the ice cream scoop when he noticed ice cream servers having difficulty trying to get the frozen dessert into a cone. The ice cream had a tendency to stick to spoons, making it difficult for employees to serve customers. Cralle responded to that problem by creating a mechanical device now known as the ice cream scoop, which he received a patent on February 2, 1897. Cralle was involved in several other business ventures over the years, but his ice cream scoop invention has revolutionized the way we serve the popular dessert.

George Crum

George Crum was an American chef, best known as the possible creator of potato chips. At a young age, Crum discovered that he had an inclination toward culinary arts and began working as a chef at Moon’s Lake House in Saratoga Springs, New York where French fries were a specialty at the restaurant. George was known for making French fries but was unable impress a customer who disliked the fries, saying complaining that they were cut too thickly. In response to the customer’s complaint, George cut the potatoes in extremely thin slices and fried them. When the customer tasted the fries, he loved them. This is believed to be the story behind the creation of potato chips that have since become a global phenomenon. George went on to open his own restaurant called ‘Crums House’ where he continued to serve his popular creation. Crum’s story is the perfect example of the many African-American figures that are behind some of your favorite foods.

Lloyd Hall

Lloyd Hall was an American chemist whose work in chemistry revolutionized the meatpacking and food science industry as a whole. At Griffith Laboratories in Chicago, Hall received accolades for his research that led to improved curing salts, which ultimately led to an improved meat preservation process. Hall was able to patent a process that dramatically cut the amount of time necessary to cure meats from days to hours. In addition, he discovered a method for sterilizing spices, which has since been applied to various other projects including the sterilization of medicine, medical supplies, and cosmetics. His work has resulted in more than 100 patents throughout the globe, leading Hall to become the first African American elected to the National Board of Directors of the American Institute of Chemists. Hall also worked as a consultant for the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and was appointed to the American Food for Peace Council by President John F. Kennedy in 1962. Thanks to Hall’s innovative methods, the processes in which we preserve food have been changed for the better.