Jim is at home at every level, whether as a six-time USA delegate to Slow Food’s Terra Madre in Italy, a visitor to Cuba to study organic farming, extensive work in urban agriculture, or planting on his 30-acre farm. Jim maintains that the local food and sustainable agriculture movement is the foundation of a sustainable community. As a scuba diver and photographer, Jim has traveled widely to capture the beauty of the land and oceans. He has exhibited his photos in books, hospitals, galleries, and magazines. Working now on two books, Jim has contributed articles and photographs to We Are Each Other’s Harvest, Sustainable World Source Book, Encyclopedia of Northern Kentucky, Kentucky African American Encyclopedia, Latino Studies, Biodynamics Journal, African American Heritage Guide, Stella Natura and other publications. Jim believes that we need some big ideas that connect humans in a sacred relationship with the Earth and Cosmos, which will require us to think not just “out of the box” but “out-of-the-barn”.

On this episode of Culture & Flavor, Zella speaks with Chef Noni, a Chef, mother, healer, teacher, event coordinator, facilitator, a community activist and leader in Johannesburg, South Africa. The Great Mother at Noni’s Home Dish is the portal used to reconnect food and people, rekindling kinship between our people and the land through unorthodox (Forgotten) culinary food experiences, storytelling and food rituals.

Noni, a South African indigenous Food specialist is building a bridge to remembering and healing using the grains of the First People. Noni’s Fire Food Experience has been activating indigenous knowledge systems with both local and global communities since 2021, Working with young minds and securing our food ways through the art of foraging and identifying lost foods and medicine in the urban setting,

An advocate for sustainable ways of being through wellness practices and retreats. Founder of Emandulo Livity restoring balance between man and nature inspired by the ancients. Head Chef and partner at Sacred Table. One of the leading chefs co-creating alongside the FERL (Food Evolution Research Lab) research team at UJ on ready to eat indigenous food concepts.

On this episode of Culture and Flavor, Zella reflects on her visit to Tapi Tapi African Ice Cream in Capetown, South Africa. Tapiwa Guzha, born in Zimbabwe has a PhD in molecular biology with a focus on plant genetics. Tapiwa is the founder and owner of Tapi Tapi Ice Cream nestled next to a bookstore in Cape Town, South Africa, Tapi Tapi ice cream is made with and inspired by African indigenous flavors and ingredients.

Since opening in 2020, Tapi Tapi has served flavors from across the African continent.

On this episode of Culture & Flavor, Zella reflects about her trip to South Africa and Zimbabwe with Chef Kudzai Bingepinge, a Chef, explorer, storyteller and co-founder of N/UM African Artisanal Salts. Kudzai is a key figure in the movement to elevate African gastronomy and culture through flavor, aiming to showcase the continent's rich culinary traditions and heritage. Kudzai is also the co-owner of King's Kraal, a culinary innovation lab and restaurant in Johannesburg, South Africa and Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.

On this episode of Culture & Flavor, Zella talks with Leon Bates about Black Doctors during the late 19th century and early 20th century, including his research on her great grandfather Dr. Joseph Henry Ward. Bates' research focuses on U.S. history of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era (GAPE), the end of Reconstruction to the Great Depression (1877-1929). His research concentrates on the Urban Environment, with interests in Education, Housing, Infrastructure, Labor, Medicine, Policing, Violence, Police Violence, and the intersection of Race.

Bates holds a Bachelor of Arts in Africana Studies and History from Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis. A Master of Arts in Pan African Studies from the University of Louisville and a Master of Arts in History from Wayne State University with a Graduate Certificate in Archival Administration. Currently, he is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Pan African Studies at the University of Louisville.