Therese Nelson on Muck Rack

Therese Nelson

(She/Her)
New York
As seen in: Black Culinary History, Allrecipes, The Kitchn, Southern Living Magazine, EatingWell, First We Feast, TASTE Cooking
Covers:  Black Identity, Black Foodways, Professional Cooking, African Atlantic Foodways, American Dining, Culinary History
Chef. Writer. Podcast Host. Steward of Black Culinary History.

Get in touch with Therese

Contact Therese, search articles and posts on X, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place.

Learn more about Muck Rack

Actions

Share this page

Therese Nelson’s Biography

Read Full Bio →

Therese Nelson is a chef with over 20 years of culinary training and experience focusing her work mainly in the catering and private chef world. She uses her culinary experience to write about Black identity in the culinary world and had contributed her work to publications including First We Feast, TASTE, Southern Living, and AllRecipes. In addition to writing and cooking, Theres is the founder of BlackCulinaryHistory,com, a social network and digital archive centered around preserving black h…

Therese Nelson’s Journalist Portfolio

See all 15 portfolio items →
The book "High on the Hog" nourished me as a Black chef when "New American Cuisine" had no place ...

The book "High on the Hog" nourished me as a Black chef when "New American Cuisine" had no place ...

When even other Black chefs said I had to go French or Italian to make it, Jessica B. Harris' writing taught …

View article →
Maroon: Musings on Fugitivity

Maroon: Musings on Fugitivity

Black foodways is a fugitive space that offers cultural respite from the rest of the world and this essay exp…

View article →
Cookbooks, Not Restaurants, Are Giving Black Foodways An Identity

Cookbooks, Not Restaurants, Are Giving Black Foodways An Identity

I remember the first time I ever heard Etta James Sing "At Last." I'd never really understood the blues on an…

View article →
Hot Sauce in My Veins

Hot Sauce in My Veins

A few years ago, Beyoncé made an offhand comment in a lyric extolling the virtues of readily available hot sa…

View article →
The Origins and Traditions of Kwanzaa-Plus the Delicious Ways People Celebrate Today

The Origins and Traditions of Kwanzaa-Plus the Delicious Ways People Celebrate Today

Kwanzaa is a holiday that evolves with the times and has a particular resonance in this era of social change.…

View article →
She Rewrote the History of American Cooking

She Rewrote the History of American Cooking

Toni Tipton-Martin introduced the forgotten founders of black cooking. Now she’s showing us what they cooked.

View article →

Articles

The Origins and Traditions of Kwanzaa-Plus the Delicious Ways People Celebrate Today

|
By Therese Nelson
| EatingWell
Kwanzaa is a seven-day holiday that starts on December 26 and ends on January 1. It is one of my favorite holidays, right up there with Juneteenth, because it's a time of year that offers a clear and intentional space to celebrate Black culture.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

The book “High on the Hog” nourished me as a Black chef when “New American Cuisine” had no place for me or my history

|
By Verta Mae, Therese Nelson
| thecounter.org
Reading race, reading food Part 01 When even other Black chefs said I had to go French or Italian to make it, Jessica B. Harris’ writing taught me the centrality of Black creativity and labor to U.S. cookery. Photo caption: Black minds—and hands—made this country’s cuisine what it is today. But chef Therese Nelson didn’t get that education in culinary school. She got it from Dr. Jessica B. Harris’ High on the Hog book, which she used as a training manual and affirmation.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

Michael Twitty Wants Us to Savor the South Through Rice

|
By Therese Nelson
| The Kitchn
published about 4 hours ago We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. I met Michael Twitty in 2011 when he launched what he called his Southern Discomfort Tour. This completely community-sourced research project took him across the American South to find his familial lineage on the sites of the plantations on which his ancestors were enslaved.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?
See all 4 articles

Interview

See all 13 answers →

Have you ever used a typewriter?

Yes, but not a dope classic metal jawn, and not for any of my own writing. Now I want a typewriter!!

How is social media changing news?

Social media has democratized the framework of authority by making diverse points of view more easily accessible.

Who's your favorite fictional journalist?

A cross between Nova Bordelon using her words as a Black cultural sword and Julianne Potter getting paid to obsess about food.

Actions

Share this page

Is this you?

As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.
Claim your profile

Get in touch with Therese

Contact Therese, search articles and posts on X, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place.

Learn more about Muck Rack
 •  Privacy  •  Terms  •  Security and Legal  •   •   •   • 

© 2026 Muck Rack

SOC 2® Certified