The State of Black Food is back in Tulsa for year two, kicking off four days of festivities with a panel of chefs from across the country.
Discussions ranged from diversifying eating habits and the historical roots of soul food to what it means to be a Black chef. Event creator Chef Chad Cherry put it bluntly to those aspiring to enter the restaurant industry: Don’t do it.
“Don’t open a restaurant. It’s not for you,” Cherry, who goes by Chef Kulture, said. “Feel how you want to feel about it. I’m actually trying to save you all a lot of heartache and pain.”
Cherry first hosted The State of Black Food in 2019 in south Florida. He then brought it to Tulsa in 2025.
The conference is meant to be celebratory, Cherry said, and to provide tangible services to culinary professionals and business owners through networking and feedback.
“We need our local community restaurants. We need them. So I’m not saying that. But what I am saying is that the restaurant business is not for most of us,” Cherry said.
In Cherry’s mind, he believes it’s more advantageous for Black chefs to be flexible and mobile than it is to open and operate a physical restaurant.
Black Americans own only 9% of restaurant firms, according to 2025 data in the International Journal of Hospitality and Management. That’s the lowest ownership percentage compared to other racial or ethnic groups.
Historian Kode Ransom and three other chefs from outside of Tulsa joined Cherry for Thursday’s panel, including Chef Lachelle Cunningham, founder of Healthy Roots Institute and executive director of Frogtown Farm.
Cunningham spoke on the difficult relationship Black people have with food and health.
“Our whole food industry has been inundated with processed foods, and that is by design,” she said.
Black Americans are more at risk of dying from heart disease and stroke than any other racial group in the U.S., according to the American Heart Association. Diets with heavy amounts of sodium have been linked to cardiovascular disease.
The City of Tulsa’s equality indicator report notes the average north Tulsan only lives for 3.3 years once they reach the age of 66. In contrast, the average south Tulsan lives for an extra 12 years.
North Tulsa is home to only one full-service grocery store. For years, the community has been described as a food desert with more than a dozen dollar stores.
Cunningham said the lack of healthy food options is a result of historical injustices designed to keep Black communities disconnected.
“The justice part is really taking back control of our futures, of our livelihoods … that justice has to do with having access to just the knowledge about where food comes from and how we can grow our own food (and) what we do with that food once it’s grown,” Cunningham said.
The State of Black Food continues over the next three days with mental health wellness sessions, cooking memos, a gala and a chef showcase. Tickets are available for purchase here.
Ismael Lele is a Report for America corps member and writes about business in Tulsa for The Oklahoma Eagle. Your donation to match our Report for America grant helps keep him writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting this link.
