Chef BJ Dennis
Gullah Geechee Chef & Cultural Bearer
Gullah Geechee
Charleston, SC
“This award brings further awareness and to a culture that has played a huge impact in the development, culture, and history of the United States. Most importantly, the work that those have gone before me to allow me and others to be in this position was not in vain.”
Chef BJ Dennis
Cooking traditionally over the coals at the Ross family Annual community gathering in Ridgeville, SC. A free community event. Photo by Jonathan Cooper.
Cooking with the next generation of chefs from our culture. Passing on the knowledge to Reggie and Gabby during my signature dinner for Charleston Wine and Food. Photo by Jonathan Cooper
Cooking 'Limpin Susan' also known as okra purloo/preloo aka okra rice over open fire. One of the traditional rice dishes of Gullah Geechee and lowcountry culture. Photo by Jonathan Cooper
Cutting Carolina gold rice that we grew in Midway, GA, a coastal geechee town. Elder Daniel Fleming wanted to do this and pass on this ancestral knowledge to me. It was the first time he seen rice grow in over 70 plus years. Photo by Parthenia Myers
I was in Casamance,Senegal with a keeper of traditons within the Diola culture. I am gifting them a rice fanner basket which was an important part of our Gullah Geechee heritage. I was explaining to the family how many of our ancestors where taken from this region and enslaved because of their knowledge of rice growing. The fanner basket was a gift to show them that we kept traditons from the motherland even after being removed from here. Photo by Brenda Peart.
Photo courtesy Chef BJ Dennis
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He infuses the flavors, culture, & techniques of his ancestors
Born and raised in Charleston, SC, personal chef and caterer Benjamin “BJ” Dennis infuses the flavors and culture of the Lowcountry into his Gullah Geechee cuisine, bringing a new taste to an ever expanding culinary palate of the south.
What differentiates Chef BJ’s food from his contemporaries in “southern” cooking is the homage he pays to the Gullah Geechee culture, brought to the Americas by West and Central Africans, disseminated along the West Indies and the American South. Dennis infuses the techniques of his ancestors, learned from four years of study in St. Thomas, as well as the lessons of his grandparents about eating from the land, to create fresh interpretations of local dishes focusing on in-season, locally sourced vegetables and seafood.
Recent trips to Trinidad and Tobago, Haiti, Barbados, Dominica, U.S. Virgin Islands, Angola, Bahamas, Benin, Togo, Senegal, Gambia, Mexico, and Cameroon has brought his work full circle. Connecting the people and cultures of the African diaspora through food. Bringing back a true taste of Gullah Geechee culture.
What does the Taproot Fellowship mean to you and how will it affect your practice?
This honor means so much to me on many levels. First just the recognition of my hard work and passion over the year to make sure my culture is recognized and not forgotten. This award brings further awareness and to a culture that has played a huge impact in the development, culture, and history of the United States. Most importantly, the work that those have gone before me to allow me and others to be in this position was not in vain.
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Chef BJ Dennis
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