Lezli Levene Harvell created the Iconoclast Dinner Experience four years ago to honor trailblazing chefs of color who otherwise might go uncelebrated in the culinary world. Not only is the event a treat for your taste buds, but net proceeds also benefit Spelman College students from Jamaica and sub-Saharan countries.
Tiffanie Barriere started making cocktails on her parents’ porch in South Central Louisiana when she was 5 years old. Sorbet, cognac, lemon juice or anything that was in the house were the ingredients she used to whip up cool summer drinks for her family and folks in the neighborhood.
Lezli Levene Harvell has enjoyed food all of her life. The festivals, invitations to private food events and the scene, in general, fascinated her. However, she also noticed a dearth of black people being celebrated in the culinary world and wanted to do something about it. A pediatric dentist by training, Levene…
Guests of the Iconoclast Dinner Experience who assemble at the James Beard House in New York City on Saturday are in for an incomparable experience. It’s the experience that culinary enthusiast and founder Lezli Levene Harvell envisioned when considering what—and who—was missing from the ultraexclusive foodie…
Doctor. Wife. Mother—of five. Entrepreneur. Food enthusiast. Event curator. Philanthropist. Lezli Levene Harvell wears so many hats, it’s exhausting just to consider what a typical day in her life must be like. Inevitably, the clichéd phrase “I don’t know how she does it” comes to mind.
It was a landmark year for inclusivity at the prestigious 2018 James Beard Awards—long considered the “Oscars of the food world”—which took place at the Lyric Opera in Chicago Monday night. This year’s nominees included 24 female chefs (out of 61 total nominations), making 2018 the biggest year for women in the…
We got hot sauce in our bags (swag). No, seriously: There was actual hot sauce in the swag bags handed out to VIPs at last Saturday’s kickoff event for the Iconoclast Dinner Experience in Chicago, the IDE All-Star Bash. Hosted by chef Edouardo Jordan, twice nominated for this year’s James Beard Awards, the…
“Create your own committees, build your own institutions, give your friends awards, award yourself, and be the gold you wanna hold, my Gs.”
