WHAT THE TONGUE REMEMBERS

There are stories the body remembers, held in the quiet places we carry.

WHAT THE TONGUE REMEMBERS is a week-long culinary and cultural exchange rooted in North Carolina, bringing chefs and cultural voices together to explore connections between West Africa, Southern France, and the American South. It is a space to listen, to share, and to experience how food carries us across place, memory, and time.

This work is deeply personal to me. It lives within iLéWA Foods, supporting women farmers and producers while building a more connected, equitable food system, and extends into an ongoing documentary tracing land, labor, and lineage across Benin, France, and the American South.

This year, I’m honored to welcome Michelin-starred Chef Georgiana VIOU, the first Black woman to receive this distinction in France, for a series of collaborative dinners shaped by exchange and intention.

The residency begins with a multi-course dinner at Nana’s in Durham.
A one-night gathering with wine pairings, where each course reflects the dialogue between our kitchens, our histories, and the journeys that brought us here.

This is an intimate evening where Benin meets two Souths, France and America. 

Seats are limited.

Pull up a chair.