Bernard Bennett, owner of the Okan food truck, serves Caribbean and West African cuisine from his South Carolina truck and store. He says his goal is to show African Americans that group food is more than fried chicken and collard greens.
“I want to show the story behind it,” Bennett said. “I take dishes from all over West Africa, my grandmother is Senegalese, and I take dishes from the Caribbean because as African Americans we don’t claim them as much as we should. I make them according to my vision because I’m a chef.”
Bennett was one of many food trucks at a culinary arts show held in partnership with the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Center at Georgia Southern University and Discover Black Savannah on Saturday afternoon, April 24. The event featured music, booths and, of course, food trucks.
“We noticed during COVID that some businesses were going mobile, which is why we decided to go with food trucks,” said Katina Wheeler, co-founder and CEO of Discover Black Savannah. “The ones that were really able to survive found these creative ways to showcase their product by going to different festivals and vendor booths. We wanted to create a place where they could all come together and celebrate what we have to offer here locally.”
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Discover Black Savannah began planning its programs back in March, following the grand opening of its office at 510 B Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. The tourism group offers businesses that are not focused on the “traditional tourism area,” namely downtown Savannah and City Market, an opportunity to find their customers.
“There are creators, artists and producers, and we wanted to give them a platform to showcase that,” Wheeler said. “The African-American community is deeply rooted in Savannah, and tourism has become so central to that community that we just want to provide cultural experiences for tourists.”
Andrea Belton-Scriven, whose family owns Smoke Kings BBQ in Brunswick, also attended the demo. They served all things smoked – ribs, wings, brisket – Smoke Kings had practically everything Southern.
“Today we have a red rice that is directly linked to the history of the Gullah Geechee,” Belton-Scriven said. “We recognize the importance of this dish in our culture, especially here in Savannah, and that’s why it’s on the menu today.”
Destini Ambus is the Chatham County general assignment reporter for the Savannah Morning News. Reach her at [email protected]
