Next week, The Soul of Seattle, a festival and fundraiser that celebrates Black chefs, restaurant workers and business owners of color, will inaugurate its second year, albeit virtually this time around.
Festival founder Edouardo Jordan, the celebrated chef behind JuneBaby, Salare and Lucinda Grain Bar, has planned a star-studded program and auction that runs throughout Black History Month. Events take place every Friday in February with a multi-course meal pairing from participating restaurants for those in Seattle who can pick up, while guests around the world can join and support the cause online. New York City's Marcus Samuelsson will host a panel with other Black culinary leaders and Questlove will DJ the closing dance party.
Local Seattle stars like Sabrina Tinsley, Executive Chef and owner of La Spiga, a 23-year-old restaurant specializing in Emilia-Romagna cuisine and premium prosciutto, will give live cooking demonstrations.
Executive Chef Sabrina Tinsley owns La Spiga restaurant with her husband and partner Pietro Borghesi. For 23 years, she has prepared the delicacies of Emilia-Romagna cuisine, a food she fell in love with while living in Italy with her husband.
For her event on February 5, Tinsley will prepare porchetta, a succulent pig roast flavored with herbs and fennel. (Tinsley is an expert on Italian pork, especially prosciutto. In 2019, she and her husband Pietro Borghesi were honored by the Consorzio del Prosciutto di Parma.)
“The trick is you don't want to use too many herbs. It can overpower the meat,” she says of her porchetta preparation. “It has to be a delicate balance for sure, but if used in the proper proportions it can be the perfect harmony of herbs and meat.”
To make it easier on home cooks without experience in Italian restaurants, Tinsley will use a shoulder cut instead of a whole pig. Chef Sabrina’s session will be co-hosted by Chef Dre Neeley of Vashon Island restaurant Gravy and emceed by Matthew Lewis of Seattle food truck Where Ya At, Matt?
During February and beyond, Tinsley says she will continue her efforts to support emerging chefs of color. Also in February, she will start a monthly chef-in-residence program for upcoming Black chefs in the kitchen of her Italian restaurant. The guest chefs will have the opportunity to realize their own culinary program two days a week. Tinsley is also co-chairing the committee on diversity, equity and inclusion for the prestigious Les Dames d’Escoffiers.
“Black History Month is a moment to reflect on the history of Black people in America, but we live it every day of our lives, it's not just a month,” she says. “It's our lifestyle and the things that we are dealing with on an everyday basis. I really appreciate that there's a focus for this month, but it's not just Black History Month. There are many different months for people. I think that's important because all these small baby steps help people understand that we’re all human beings and we’re all in this together and everybody should get equity and equal opportunities.”
For more information or to purchase tickets and donate, visit the Soul of Seattle website.