“You have a social responsibility as an artist,” says Tiffany-Anne Parkes, the founder of Pienanny. It’s a responsibility that she does not take lightly. Speaking with the culinary artist over Zoom, it’s clear that Parkes is always thinking deeply and intentionally about the work she’s doing, even while on vacation. Enjoying the Jamaica sun while visiting with family, her hair pulled back in beach-ready blonde cornrows, she’s equal parts reflective and instructive, talking about pies as if she were still teaching history in front of a classroom - a full-time profession that she recently left in 2022. “For me,” she continues, “art is not just about being pretty. It’s not about something just being attractive…” After a brief pause she asks, “Why aren’t we taking it a step further and thinking a bit more deeply about culinary artistry and thinking about how we can use that as a way to say something meaningful?”

Food does so much more than just nourish our bodies. It brings is together. Not just as families, but as people. We all need it, so we all have it. And because we’re all different, there are countless ways to prepare it, serve it and take it in. Each one is attached to a culture - to a particular way of being human. Like cultures, food overlaps, weaving a fantastic tapestry of influences that shows where we are, where we’ve come from and who we’ve met along the way. If you listen, food will tell you a story. Few people know that as well as Chef Alexander Smalls.