Dr. Wanida Lewis is the Founder and CEO of Crescendo Foods, Ghana and West Africa’s first shared commercial kitchen co-working hub located in Accra, Ghana. Dr. Lewis has over ten years’ experience leading initiatives and strategic partnerships throughout the African continent. She has a BS in Chemistry from Saint Augustine’s University, an MS in An…

A Queens, NY native, Nkem Oghedo is the founder of Adá, a community & online destination for global Black food culture. Previously, she worked in management consulting and served as the Chief of Staff of wellness tech startup, Care/of. Her professional mission is to create equitable economies in which Black communities thrive. She holds a B.S. in C…

Born in Accra, Ghana but raised in the American South, food was always a large part of Selasie's life. For the past 5 years, Chef Selasie has worked at several well-known fine dining restaurants across the San Francisco - Bay area such as Bird Dog, Mourad, SPQR, Avery and Lazy Bear. She currently works as the Chef de Cuisine at Hi Felicia in downto…

After over a decade spent engaged in humanitarian work with the United Nations and years of self-teaching in the culinary arts, Selassie Atadika completed course work at the Culinary Institute of America. Her company Midunu, a nomadic and private dining enterprise in Accra embodies ‘New African Cuisine’. It celebrates culinary heritage where cultur…

This week we're re-broadcasting our episode with Mrs. Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli, co-founder of AACE Foods and an expert on social innovation, African agriculture and nutrition, entrepreneurship, and youth development. Ndidi has over 25 years of international development experience and is a recognized serial entrepreneur, author, public speaker, and con…

This week's guest is Edwina Morgan of Waakye Leaf. The idea for Waakye Leaf was born out of a genuine love for building cultural bridges by sharing traditional African culinary knowledge with the world in the most creative and innovative ways in order to provoke, delight and rouse interest. Established in 2008 by Edwina Morgan, Waakye Leaf is now c…

This week's guest is US-based African chef, cookbook author and activist Pierre Thiam. Pierre (who was born and raised in Senegal and now lives in the Bay Area) has dedicated his career to making West African cuisine and ingredients accessible to new audiences in the US and beyond. He’s the executive chef and co-founder of Teranga, his acclaimed fa…

Inspired by her daughters, Afua Ayisi started a bottled beverage business featuring herbal teas across the continent. Starting with the roselle hibiscus tea, popularly known in Francophone West Africa as Bissau, the idea is to craft and produce delicious and low caloric ready to drink teas void of artificial preservatives and ingredients. Find Bosu…

Samantha Kotey is a corporate attorney, food enthusiast, and cook born and raised in Houston, TX to Ghanaian immigrants. Growing up with a Ghanaian mother who proudly subscribed to traditional West African social norms meant that food was at the forefront of her life from a very young age. Early on, she recognized the insidious pattern of marginali…

EatOkra, in partnership with Dine Diaspora, is providing $10,000 grants for Black women-owned restaurants across the United States. The EatOkra Black Women in Food Grants provide capital for Black women to accelerate growth for their brick-and-mortar restaurants. Aligned with EatOkra’s values, the opportunity will enable these businesses to “spread…

Back with a new season and can’t wait for you to hear! This week, I’m trying out a new segment/episode format: I3 Items on Item 13 featuring thirteen food-related things I’m eating, reading, watching, participating in, etc. Items featured in this week’s episode: A Mom Potluck Poks Spices TJ’s Sparkling Watermelon Spice by Miss Cookie Dounou Cuisine…

This season, we’re showcasing stories from the inaugural class of Changing Narratives Africa Fellowship, a highly selective program for African food entrepreneurs who are ready to scale their brands into global markets. Aderoju Odunsi is an agribusiness specialist and has been an entrepreneur, trainer and Business Development Service provider for o…

This season, we’re showcasing stories from the inaugural class of Changing Narratives Africa Fellowship, a highly selective program for African food entrepreneurs who are ready to scale their brands into global markets. This week’s guest is Temi Jebutu, a Nigerian Agribusiness professional with over 17 years of experience in Operations Management w…

This season, we’re showcasing stories from the inaugural class of Changing Narratives Africa Fellowship, a highly selective program for African food entrepreneurs who are ready to scale their brands into global markets. This week’s guest is Ebun Feludu. She runs JAM The Coconut Food Company- a family legacy business that produces premium food and b…

This season, we’re showcasing stories from the inaugural class of Changing Narratives Africa Fellowship, a highly selective program for African food entrepreneurs who are ready to scale their brands into global markets. This week’s guest is William Omamo, a Kenyan national and trained hospitality professional with over 20 years of industry experien…

This season, we’re showcasing stories from the inaugural class of Changing Narratives Africa Fellowship, a highly selective program for African food entrepreneurs who are ready to scale their brands into global markets. This week’s guest is Chichi Eriobu, the Founder and CEO of Phronesis Foods Nigeria Limited, a globally-growing food Processing, pa…

This week we're re-broadcasting in celebration of the Ginjan Brothers' recent feature in Humans of New York. And big news: we're launching a new season of Item 13 starting on February 1st! In the meantime, here's the story of Mohammed and Ibrahima from episodes 46 and 47. Ginjan Brothers was founded by Mohammed Diallo & Ibrahima Diallo. The brother…

Whitney Osei-Akintaju was born in Kibi, Ghana, and migrated to the United States with her father when she was six years old. In her sophomore year of high school, she took a web design and multimedia class which sparked her passion for tech. In 2011, she began competing in pageants and was named Miss West Africa USA First Runner-Up. She was also Mi…

Mrs. Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli is an expert on social innovation, African agriculture and nutrition, entrepreneurship, and youth development. She has over 25 years of international development experience and is a recognized serial entrepreneur, author, public speaker, and consultant. Through her work in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors, she h…

Award winning International Wine Educator Tuanni Price is on a mission to make the complicated world of wine simple. In fact, that is the motto of her wine lifestyle business, Zuri Wine Tasting. The self-proclaimed wine enthusiast curates’ wine-filled lifestyles from Southern California to the Southern-most part of the globe in Cape Town, South Afr…

Zinyusile Khumbula (Zi) was born in Zimbabwe and spent some of his childhood in South Africa. He moved to the United States in September 2009 and been a resident of Harlem since 2014 where he has launched New York’s First Pop Up African Taqueria, Taco Africana. Zi’s daily inspiration is the mission of sharing Ubuntu (humanity to others) through foo…

Margaret is the founder of Kahawa 1893 Coffee. She is a third generation coffee farmer from Kenya and grew up on a coffee farm immigrating to the USA. After earning her MBA from Harvard, she went on to work on Wall Street, where she rediscovered her passion for coffee. She founded Kahawa 1893 with a mission to close the gender gap in coffee. In Ken…

Abena Offeh-Gyimah is a writer, a researcher, a business owner, and an advocate for an indigenous food sovereignty system. She's worked at Black Creek Community Farm as a coordinator for the youth farming program, with Building Roots as an urban gardener coordinator, with North York Community House as a Strong Neighborhood Coordinator, and currentl…

This week’s guest is Malicka Anjorin, a Digital Forensic consultant by profession and a content creator by passion. Malicka inspires home cooks to explore West African dishes and learn more about our culture through food through her platform, The Black Gourmet. Find Malicka Anjorin on instagram: @theblvckgourmet and online: www.theblvckgourmet.com …

This week’s guest is Afia Amoako , a PhD student who loves talking about veganism as it relates to my culture. On her platforms, she shares easy vegan recipes that highlight Ghanaian and West African food culture, ingredients and cooking methods. She challenges her audience to think outside the box when it comes to living a vegan lifestyle as it pe…

This week’s guest is Adégnimika (Adé) Carrena, owner of Dounou Cuisine. Born in Porto-Novo, Benin, Adé started her culinary journey here in the United States when she was adopted at the age of 10. Though then she cooked just with her family. She says her passion did not grow until a few years ago when her perception of food changed. “I saw that foo…

Abena Foli was born and raised in Ghana until 2006, when she immigrated to the US. Her passion for food comes from her farmer-father who taught her how to blend spices, and how to cook. Since high school, Abena has been passionate about combining her love for food, with her love for the sciences. This led her to pursue her Master’s degree in Food S…

Take Two is our new mini-series, catching up with guests from previous seasons on what they’ve been up to since they were last on the show. This week, I chat with Carol Mathias O’chez, a psychologist passionate about helping people thrive in all areas of their life. We discuss the mental toll of the last year and how food entrepreneurs can thrive i…

Tina Munzu, a nurse and wellness blogger, helps busy people achieve optimal health through simple delicious healthy meals and an active lifestyle. Her passion centers around stripping myths and fads about diet, meeting her clients at their individual health levels and prioritizing simple real food. Follow Tina and her work online: Website: www. wel…

Lotte Wouters has been building food movements and campaigning for a just and sustainable food system since 2009 in the Netherlands, Lebanon and now Ghana. In 2012, she founded The Food Line-up, now one of the largest sustainable catering companies in the Netherlands. Beginning 2018 she moved to Ghana and founded the Ghana Food Movement together wi…

Take Two is our new mini-series, catching up with guests from previous seasons on what they’ve been up to since they were last on the show. This week, I chat with Naa Oyoo Kumodzi, lifestyle blogger, social media consultant, food blogger and entrepreneur. For full details on her background and work in food, tune in to Episode 4: Telling the Ghanaia…

Ruth Nakaar is the founder and owner of Fudena, a food concept currently based in Philadelphia that aims to be America’s first West African fast-casual restaurant chain. Think Chipotle but with the bold flavors of West Africa. Initially an idea she started working on while pursuing her MBA at Wharton, Ruth went from hosting recipe tastings for frie…

Take Two is our new mini-series, catching up with guests from previous seasons on what they’ve been up to since they were last on the show. This week, I chat with Freda Muyambo, a food blogger and writer with expertise in African cuisine and a passion for sharing African culture through food. For full details on her background and work in food, tun…

Rachel Laryea is the founder and CEO of Kelewele, a food service and cultural lifestyle brand reimagining plantains in its mission to connect the African diaspora through food, culture and innovation. She is also a dual Ph.D. candidate at Yale University studying Black capitalists in the transAtlantic financial industry. Find Kelewele online: Websi…

Take Two is our new mini-series, catching up with guests from previous seasons on what they’ve been up to since they were last on the show. This week, I chat with Chef Cynthia Péan, a professionally trained plant-based chef and nutritional consultant. For full details on her background and work in food, tune in to Episode 13: Eating Vegan the Afri…

This week’s guest is Beatrice Ajaero, the third of six siblings, was raised on Roosevelt Island, a sliver in the East River between Manhattan (of which it’s a part) and Queens. Her mother’s family has roots in New Jersey, a neighboring state that, like New York, is home to many Nigerian Americans, and her mother’s memories of “how her aunties cooke…

Happy New Year! Learn what's coming up in Season 5 of the podcast. ---- Follow Item 13 on social media: Instagram, Facebook and Twitter @item13podcast Don’t forget to subscribe & leave us a review! Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Item 13 by becoming a member! Item 13: An African Food Podcast is Powe…

This week we want you to hear the trailer for Say Their Name, an incredible podcast that focuses on the assault and killing of unarmed Black people by police and in ‘Stand Your Ground’ states, highlighting incidents throughout the United States. Serving as a memorialization for these individuals, you will learn about who these people were through t…

My thoughts on the season and this year so far. I also share with you, in a pseudo rapid-fire segment, what I'm listening to, reading, eating, watching for the rest of the year. Vonnie William's article: https://www.foodandwine.com/news/yorm-ackuaku-podcast-african-food-stories Zoe Adjonyo's BlackBook Initiative: https://www.instagram.com/blackbook…

Ginjan Brothers was founded by Mohammed Diallo & Ibrahima Diallo. The brothers immigrated to the States in their early teens, 13 & 14, respectively. Mohammed has a formal training in business management and spent the bulk of his professional career in the financial services industry. Ibrahima is an engineer by training, but spent most of his career…

Ginjan Brothers was founded by Mohammed Diallo & Ibrahima Diallo. The brothers immigrated to the States in their early teens, 13 & 14, respectively. Mohammed has a formal training in business management and spent the bulk of his professional career in the financial services industry. Ibrahima is an engineer by training, but spent most of his career…

Fozia Ismail is founder and researcher at Arawelo Eats, a supper club which explores East African food and what it can mean for our understanding of belonging in a post-Brexit world. She has designed and delivered workshops/presentations for organizations such as Keep It Complex Serpentine Gallery, Jerwood Project Space, Tate Modern, Museum of Lond…

Kodjo Adovor is a Certified Italian Wine Professional and the first person of African descent to qualify as an Italian Wine Ambassador. Kodjo is the founder and sommelier at Africa Wine Club, which seeks to bring club members together to explore wine, food, culture, and business across the continent of Africa. Kodjo has also led travel groups to ex…

Part 2 of my conversation with Dr. Tapiwa Guzha. Founder of Tapi Tapi, producing handcrafted ice cream, inspired by the unique flavors of African ingredients. Based in Cape Town, Tapiwa's work is focused on rehabilitation of the collective African esteem around cultural identity, within and beyond food. “In part, Tapi Tapi is focused on rehabilitat…

This week’s guest is Zimbabwean-born Dr. Tapiwa Guzha. Founder of Tapi Tapi, producing handcrafted ice cream, inspired by the unique flavors of African ingredients. Based in Cape Town, Tapiwa's work is focused on rehabilitation of the collective African esteem around cultural identity, within and beyond food. “In part, Tapi Tapi is focused on rehab…

This week’s guest is Tayo Oredola, the food photographer, recipe developer, and writer at lowcarbafrica.com. Originally from Nigeria, Tayo lives in Austin, TX with her husband and two kids. Her background is in software engineering but she is passionate about food and developing new recipes. Her blog, Low Carb Africa, was born out of the desire to …

This week’s guest is Lola Adeyemi, Founder of It’s Souper. After working for over a decade in the corporate IT world, Lola Adeyemi decided to quit her job to focus on 'It's Souper', an Afro-fusion soup line she launched in November 2018. She felt that there was a need to fill a void that currently exists in the Canadian Retail space for African ins…

This week’s guest is Adégnimika (Adé) Carrena, owner of Dounou Cuisine. Born in Porto-Novo, Benin, Adé started her culinary journey here in the United States when she was adopted at the age of 10. Though then she cooked just with her family. She says her passion did not grow until a few years ago when her perception of food changed. “I saw that foo…

This week’s guest is award-winning Chef Alain Lemaire, Co-owner and Executive Chef of Sensory Delights, LLC and Arome Catering, both full service catering companies based out of South Florida and Haiti respectively. He is a native of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, where he first discovered his interest in cooking. Later on, he developed an increasing passi…

This week’s guest is Sophia Musoki, a Ugandan food blogger, writer and photographer whose work through A Kitchen in Uganda has been instrumental in bringing Ugandan cuisine to the world. She has been featured on Cuisine Noir, CNN, City Press and many other publications. Sophie has self published 3 e-books one of which won the Gourmand World Cookboo…