April 28, 2025

302: More Than Comfort Food: The Rich History and Future of Soul Cuisine

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302: More Than Comfort Food: The Rich History and Future of Soul Cuisine
302: More Than Comfort Food: The Rich History and Future of Soul Cuisine

To close out ๐๐ฅ๐š๐œ๐ค ๐‡๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ฒ ๐Œ๐จ๐ง๐ญ๐ก Iโ€™m sat down with Chef Deborah VanTrece, a culinary visionary ๐ซ๐ž๐๐ž๐Ÿ๐ข๐ง๐ข๐ง๐  ๐’๐จ๐ฎ๐ฅ ๐…๐จ๐จ๐. From her days as a flight attendant exploring global cuisines to becoming a ๐‰๐š๐ฆ๐ž๐ฌ ๐๐ž๐š๐ซ๐ ๐€๐ฐ๐š๐ซ๐-๐ง๐จ๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐š๐ญ๐ž๐ ๐œ๐ก๐ž๐Ÿ, restaurateur, and ๐›๐ž๐ฌ๐ญ-๐ฌ๐ž๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐š๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก๐จ๐ซ, Deborah has built a legacy on honoring tradition while pushing boundaries.

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Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging Women Black History Month, Black History Month

To close out ๐๐ฅ๐š๐œ๐ค ๐‡๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ฒ ๐Œ๐จ๐ง๐ญ๐ก I’m sat down with Chef Deborah VanTrece, a culinary visionary ๐ซ๐ž๐๐ž๐Ÿ๐ข๐ง๐ข๐ง๐  ๐’๐จ๐ฎ๐ฅ ๐…๐จ๐จ๐. From her days as a flight attendant exploring global cuisines to becoming a ๐‰๐š๐ฆ๐ž๐ฌ ๐๐ž๐š๐ซ๐ ๐€๐ฐ๐š๐ซ๐-๐ง๐จ๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐š๐ญ๐ž๐ ๐œ๐ก๐ž๐Ÿ, restaurateur, and ๐›๐ž๐ฌ๐ญ-๐ฌ๐ž๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐š๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก๐จ๐ซ, Deborah has built a legacy on honoring tradition while pushing boundaries.

๐ŸŽ™๏ธWe dish on:

โžค ๐“๐ก๐ž ๐ซ๐จ๐จ๐ญ๐ฌ ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ž๐ฏ๐จ๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐’๐จ๐ฎ๐ฅ ๐…๐จ๐จ๐—how it differs from Southern food and why it’s a global experience

โžค ๐‡๐ž๐ซ ๐ฃ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ง๐ž๐ฒ—from navigating barriers as a Black LGBTQ+ woman in the industry to leading the way for future chefs

โžค ๐“๐ฐ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐ž๐ ๐’๐จ๐ฎ๐ฅ’๐ฌ ๐ข๐ฆ๐ฉ๐š๐œ๐ญ—how her restaurant blends comfort food with global flavors and changes the way we see Soul Food

โžค ๐“๐ก๐ž ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฐ๐ž๐ซ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐ฆ๐ž๐ง๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ฌ๐ก๐ข๐ฉ & ๐ซ๐ž๐ฉ๐ซ๐ž๐ฌ๐ž๐ง๐ญ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง—why diversity in kitchens matters now more than ever

Deborah is proof that food isn’t just about what’s on the plate—it’s about history, culture, and bringing people together.

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Chef Deborah VanTrece Profile Photo

Chef Deborah VanTrece

Chef

Chef Deborah VanTrece is one of the Southโ€™s most recognized culinary personalities, in addition to being creative director and owner of Twisted Soul Cookhouse & Pours and Orethaโ€™s at the Point in Atlanta, Georgia. In 2023, Chef Deborah added James Beard Award nominee to her long list of accomplishments, which also includes being a bestselling author, Curating Chef for the American Express Centurion Lounge at Atlantaโ€™s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, and host of her own cooking show: Global Soul Kitchen, which premiered on the diy network in September of 2024.

The intersection of food and culture is at the heart of VanTreceโ€™s cuisine, which features creative modern interpretations and global influences on traditional Southern dishes. She coined the phrase โ€œglobal soul foodโ€ to describe her unique approach.