The Jamaica Observer Table Talk Food Awards committee is delighted to announce that Dr Jessica B Harris, lecturer, consultant, culinary historian and narrator/author of the book on which the acclaimed Netflix documentary series High on The Hog is based, will join its virtual webinar series today, Tuesday, June 15 at 10:00 am.

Dr Harris, along with Avadaugn Sinclair, regional marketing manager, The Best Dressed Chicken; Chef John Michael Aboud, Aioli, Trinidad; Jacqui “Juicy Chef” Sinclair, food culturalist and founder of Nyam & Trod; Chef Orlando Satchell, managing director, O Brand Inc, Orlando’s Restaurant & Bar, Saint Lucia; Chef Dennis McIntosh, president, Culinary Federation of Jamaica; Myrtle Weir, head of school, School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, University of Technology, Jamaica; and Chef Briana Riddock, dinner party curator, will speak on the subject The Culinary Industry: What’s The Future?

Dr Harris is considered by many to be one of the foremost authorities on the food of the African Diaspora. She is the author, editor, or translator of 18 books including 12 cookbooks documenting the foodways of the African Diaspora. She has lectured widely and written extensively for scholarly and popular publications. She consults internationally and worked with the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture on their cafeteria. Dr Harris holds degrees from Bryn Mawr College, Queens College/CUNY, the Université de Nancy, France, and New York University. She was granted an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Johnson & Wales University and holds numerous awards and accolades. In 2019, Harris’s books were inducted into the James Beard Cookbook Hall of Fame and she was the 2020 James Beard Lifetime Achievement awardee. Dr Harris was a professor at Queens College/CUNY in New York for five decades and is currently professor emerita at that institution.