February 1, 2023

‘African American Culinary Traditions’ with Mother-Daughter Hosts Sheryl Brissett Chapman and Chana Brissett Shinegba, Will Be Presented Online Tuesday, Feb. 7

‘African American Culinary Traditions’ with Mother-Daughter Hosts Sheryl Brissett Chapman and Chana Brissett Shinegba, Will Be Presented Online Tuesday, Feb. 7

Sheryl Brissett Chapman, left, and her daughter, Chana Brissett Shinegba. 

“African American Culinary Traditions,” a free online presentation from 7-9 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 7, led by the mother-daughter hosts Sheryl Brissett Chapman and Chana Brissett Chinegba, will feature a diverse array of community members sharing their food memories and family culinary traditions. The event, which is presented by Silver Spring Town Center, Inc., will be held via Zoom.

Register to participate in “African American Culinary Traditions” by going to Meeting Registration - Zoom.

Sheryl Brissett Chapman (Seck) has served as executive director of the National Center for Children and Families since 1991. She was born during the Jim Crow Era in rural South Carolina to a family whose roots transcended slavery and was intertwined racially with White and indigenous folks. Although her parents migrated north when she was quite young, she said she was being raised "up South” in Boston. She has powerful memories of the southern food that embraced her large, expansive, extended family, even as it relocated. The passion for the food of her people has been incorporated in her professional career addressing food insecurity with the poor and food accessibility for those who are quarantined in high-risk Black communities due to COVID-19. She has established a NBA Foundation-sponsored culinary workforce training program for youth who are abandoned or homeless.

Chana Brissett Shinegba, Dr. Chapman's first-born daughter, has dedicated more than 20 years to the hospitality industry, currently serving as the director of client relations for RSVP Catering, one of the top premier catering companies in the Washington, D.C., area. Chana's love for culinary art is deeply ingrained—from her Southern grandmother's incomparable fried chicken and collard greens to her Afro-Caribbean grandfather's braised tongue with mustard, rice and peas.

According to Chana, her life is defined by her familial connections and the memories shared through communal feasts. The stories of her ancestors and living family accentuate her appreciation for the culinary arts and the importance of culture and custom.

More information about Silver Spring Town Center, Inc., and the events it presents can be found at https://www.silverspringtowncenter.com/.