Memphis’ Black cuisine is like a love letter attached to a bouquet of homegrown flowers, watered by the dedication and drive of the people who run the businesses and charged by the sunlight from the people who shine their love and patronage on them.
For Black History Month, The Commercial Appeal wanted to highlight the richness and depth that the city’s Black residents contribute to the food scene here. And like Memphians of all colors, ethnicities and nationalities, Black Memphians devote themselves to all aspects of the processes that bring us the food we love.
From the seasonings on our favorite savory dishes to the ice cream that accompanies some of the city’s best desserts (when it’s not proudly standing on its own), Memphians have created food businesses that are both beloved and respected here at home and beyond. Here are three that we love.
Sister Soul Seasoning
Tarcia Gilliam-Parrish poses for a portrait next to her family’s Sister Soul Seasoning products inside The Mad Grocer & Deli at Crosstown Concourse in Memphis.
Sister Soul Seasoning was born from a grandmother’s decision to hang up her kitchen apron.
“My mother told me, ‘Your children said you can’t cook, [but] this is how you’re going to get them to eat your food,'” Tarcia Gilliam-Parrish remembered, laughing at the comical tough love.
Her mother, Lucy Ann Brown, was known as both the family’s and the community’s official chitterling cook. The spices that she and her sisters, Ruby Davis and Queen Benton, used for their food were becoming legendary beyond the opinions of their grandchildren.
In 2022, the family decided to bottle and sell the blends with Gilliam-Parrish leading as the company’s CEO, in addition to wearing several other “hats.” Today, Sister Soul Seasoning is available locally in markets like The Mad Grocer & Deli at Crosstown Concourse and Miss Cordelia’s Market in Harbor Town. It’s also stocked on the shelves of all Superlo Foods locations throughout Tennessee and Mississippi.
Tarcia Gilliam-Parrish places Sister Soul Seasoning products on the shelves inside The Mad Grocer & Deli at Crosstown Concourse in Memphis.
The company sells a Spicy Seasoning Blend, a Chitterlings Seasoning Blend, an Alfredo Pasta Seasoning Blend and an All Purpose Seasoning Blend that is also available in a low-sodium option.
“To see my mom proud of herself makes me happy,” Gilliam-Parrish said. “She wanted to have something that she could leave as a legacy… she’s very proud that her recipe is now in households all over the city and state.”
What’s most impressive about the brand may be its nationwide distribution deals through Walmart.com and Amazon after just two years in business. The company has shipped its seasonings to 49 of the 50 states and is waiting to fulfill its first Alaskan order, something Gilliam-Parrish said she’d be happy to see happen in 2025.
Cast Iron Love by Chef Tam
Tamra “Chef Tam” Patterson sells a range of kitchen tools, gourmet spice blends and Cast Iron Love cookware line.
You can cook like a pro with Tamra “Chef Tam” Patterson’s kitchen tools, gourmet spice blends and Cast Iron Love cookware line.
“Cast iron lasts for generations,” she advised. “It lasts forever.”
Despite the longevity of the current line that already includes Dutch ovens, cast iron skillets of varying sizes and a roaster, the Memphis resident says she tries to step into the minds of home cooks who may be looking to expand their cookware sets as she asks herself what could be missing from their kitchens. The imagined answers lead to her latest gadget, gizmo and grater ideas — so the Food Network competition winner is adding new sizes of some of the existing options in an effort to be more accessible to customers with different needs.
“Older people aren’t able to effectively pick up the largest roaster we have,” she pointed out. “It’s too heavy for them.”
A smaller version of the roaster and casserole dish will be available in the future for people who may want to cook in smaller quantities or have mobility issues. But a larger cast iron skillet is coming for people who are cooking for larger families and groups.
Chef Tam has made her entire line available for purchase online at thecheftam.com.
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Patterson, a former restaurateur, says she wanted something to make her cookware stand out from the rows of search results that greet online shoppers. For example, instead of the standard shades of white inside most of her competitors’ Dutch ovens, hers feature colorful interior cooking surfaces.
“I didn’t want white because we use seasonings and we use tomatoes [in our cooking],” she said. “All the things that just stain cookware. So I took that knowledge and implemented it into a design that people use and would love to use.”
Tamra “Chef Tam” Patterson is pinned as a culinary diplomat representing the United States at the 2024 Petronio Álvarez Pacific Music Festival in Colombia.
In addition to growing her merchandise line, the nationally revered chef has become internationally renowned with her recognition as a culinary diplomat in August at Colombia’s 2024 Petronio Festival.
“Being pinned as a culinary diplomat for the United States was pretty dope,” she said.
The honor came along with the privilege of bringing her corner of American fare to the festival’s participants, allowing them to taste American flavors they may not otherwise be exposed to. The six-day festival is known to be the most important celebration of African culture in Latin America and hosts more than 500,000 people each year.
Kaye’s Pints & Scoops
Owner Kiamesha Wilson holds a pint of her salted caramel ice cream inside of Kaye’s Pints & Scoops in Memphis.
Ice cream has been a family tradition for Kiamesha Wilson, the founder/owner of Kaye’s Pints & Scoops, for as long as she can remember.
“When we’d go to the country to see my grandma, we’d get a scoop of ice cream every night,” Wilson recalled of her early childhood spent in Lee County, Arkansas, with her grandparents. “And when we were home [in Memphis], we’d go to Baskin-Robbins every Sunday evening for a scoop.”
Thus began the lifelong love affair between the Whitehaven native and the creamy frozen confections she now distributes throughout the city. But turning her love for ice cream into a business wasn’t on the Tennessee State University graduate’s mind at all when she received her first ice cream maker as a Christmas gift.
“I started making it just for fun, just because I like ice cream,” she said. “I was only making butter pecan because that’s what I eat.”
Wilson continued to make small batches of ice cream for herself and later began gifting pints to friends, family and co-workers, despite balancing a busy work schedule and being deeply involved in the community. When the COVID-19 pandemic brought all of her activities to a halt, Wilson turned to Facebook to let people know she had ice cream to sell. When she sold 100 units in a single weekend, the ice cream afficionado decided it was time to take her hobby seriously as a potential new stream of income.
Owner Kiamesha Wilson places a pint of her salted caramel ice cream in the fridge at Kaye’s Pints & Scoops.
Wilson attended and completed Scoop School, a Missouri-based ice cream school, to learn more about flavoring, machinery and service models. From there, Kaye’s Pints & Scoops was born and is now carried in specialty stores across Memphis.
The production kitchen at 2089 Winchester Road opened in 2022 and is open to the public on Saturdays for people who would rather purchase their pints directly from the source. This is just the beginning of the business’ story though, Wilson said.
“We’re in a growing phase. We want to become a regional brand and allow people outside of Memphis to get a taste of Kaye’s,” she said.
For the immediate future, brand plans to continue to innovate and expand on its 22 available flavors. Partygoers and planners can take advantage of using the cold treats for Kaye’s Pints & Scoops’ catering services at their events. And ice cream lovers across the region can expect to see Kaye’s at more festivals this spring and summer, where Wilson hopes to receive feedback from customers about the stores they hope to see her products in.
Ellen Chamberlain is the food and dining reporter at The Commercial Appeal. Contact her at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Black-owned food businesses in Memphis: 3 you need to check out | List
