The Atlanta Food & Wine Festival is to southern foodies what AFROPUNK is to carefree black millennials.  Each year, cuisine connoisseurs from all over the world pour into Georgia's capital to showcase, celebrate, and enjoy the rich food and beverage traditions of the South. The intersection of food and culture, particularly in the south, is deeply rooted in tradition and African-American history.  From collard greens and cornbread to deep fried meats, the defining dishes of today's southern food craze owes much of its origin to black slaves and cooks who transformed rations into cuisine and turned fodder into soul food.

In recent years the landscape of the "southern food" craze has changed with celebrity chefs like Paula Deen at the helm of the mainstream trend. While soul food has been largely gentrified commercially, these three black women came, saw, and conquered at this year's AFWF festivities:

Jennifer Booker

                                                                  

A 20-year culinary vet, Jennifer Booker showcased her culinary talents at this year's festival. “I have noticed that over the years there are more females chefs in the kitchen (though not an equal ratio to male chefs), but I feel that there are fewer black chefs in the kitchen,” she told NBCBLK. “I find that disparity especially troubling when the conversation is about Southern cuisine, one that blacks helped to create.”

Tiffanie Barriere

                                                                 

A self-described lesbian cocktail nerd, Tiffanie Barriere has been attending AFWF since it's inaugural run in 2010. “During this one weekend, I am a personality. I come into this place and put out a lot of energy,” she told NBCBLK. “It is easy to feel out of place, being one of few black women mixologists in general in the food and wine industry. When I get here I am a personality. But I also get my nourishment because I am surrounded by other food and beverage enthusiasts.”

Deborah VanTrece

                                                                  

Executive chef and owner of The Catering Company, Deborah VanTrece participated for the first time this year. “It is a whole other level of talent,” she told NBCBLK. “For me, very few African American chefs get much recognition period. When you add on the female part, it becomes even less.”

Salute to these black women!