Celebrating Black History Month With
Peer-Led Cooking Classes

How Benevity’s Black Employee Network Is Cooking Up Engagement

Benevity’s Black Employee Network, along with the support of other peers and allies, has created a robust calendar of events to celebrate Black History Month this February, with the goal of engaging Benevity-ites, sharing history and, of course, having fun.

One of the events we ran for the second year in a row is a peer-led cooking class, where people make a dish that’s important to Black history and Black culture. This year’s dish was authentic Creole jambalaya!

Here’s how our employee resource group (ERG) made it happen, along with some tips for organizing a Black History Month cooking event at your company.

Pick the right dish

Find a dish that’s steeped in Black history, isn’t too tricky or time-consuming to make and has easy-to-find ingredients or substitutes. This year, our ERG chose Creole jambalaya because it has clear ties to Black history (along with other cultures!), and one of our Benevity-ites is passionate about cooking this dish, has a deep understanding of its history and lives in the area where jambalaya was created — New Orleans. It can also easily be cooked in a 1-hour session.

Share facts and history

To help everyone get a better understanding of how jambalaya is linked to Black history, the event organizers sent out information and videos in advance and shared facts during the Zoom session. Here are a few interesting tidbits:

• “Creole” was originally used to identify someone who was native to Louisiana, who spoke French and was Catholic, regardless of race. Until the 1960s, most people from Louisiana identified as Creoles, but now it’s understood that Cajuns are white, while Creoles are Black
  or multiracial.
• Jambalaya is both a Cajun and a Creole dish. You can tell the difference by its color. If it’s orange or reddish, it’s Creole. If it’s brown, it’s Cajun, because Cajuns wouldn’t have had
  access to tomatoes when the dish was first developed.
• Jambalaya is truly a collision of cultures. The recipe and technique were adapted from the Spanish. The New Orleans region wouldn’t have had rice without the influence of Senegalese slaves, who brought a knowledge of rice cultivation from West Africa. Louisiana’s famous sausages likely wouldn’t exist if not for German immigrants, who brought their Old World sausage-making skills with them. The adapted mirepoix came from the French (the French used onion, celery and carrots; jambalaya uses onion, celery and bell peppers), and Native Americans likely kicked in the cayenne pepper.
• Mapping out the origin of jambalaya is tough for a few reasons, including colonialism, the
  slave trade and the fact that recipes tended to be shared verbally.
  

Make participation easy and generate some buzz

Creole Jambalaya
(makes 8-12 servings)

10 oz. pre-cooked sausage (Andouille, chorizo or smoked sausage/Kielbasa/Polish), sliced into rounds
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into 1-in. pieces
Meat substitutes: 12 oz. tempeh or tofu, cubed; meatless sausage, sliced into rounds
2 tbsp. Creole seasoning
3 tbsp. olive oil or cooking oil
1 onion, diced
1 small green bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 small red bell pepper, seeded and diced
2 stalks celery, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced, or 1 tbsp. chopped garlic
1 14-oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. dried oregano
½ tsp. red pepper flakes (or ⅛ tsp. cayenne powder)
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1½ c. uncooked white rice (short or long grain)
3 c. chicken broth
Sliced green onions and/or chopped parsley, to garnish

Instructions

1. In a medium-sized skillet, heat 1 tbsp. of oil over medium heat.
   
   
2. Season the sausage and chicken or your meat substitutes with 1 tbsp. of the Creole seasoning. 
   
   
3. Brown the sausage or meat substitutes. Remove and set aside.
   
   
4. In the same skillet, add 1 tbsp. oil and sauté the chicken until cooked through. Remove and set aside.
   
   
5. Using the same skillet, add the remaining tablespoon of oil and sauté the onion, bell peppers and celery until the onion is soft and transparent. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Remove and set aside.
   
   
6. In a large (5 to 6 quarts) Dutch oven, stir in the tomatoes over medium heat. Season with salt, pepper, thyme, oregano, red pepper flakes (or cayenne powder), Worcestershire sauce and the remaining Creole seasoning. Stir in the sautéed vegetables. Stir in the chicken and sausage. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
   
   
7. Turn heat to high and stir in the rice and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low-medium. Cover and let simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed and rice is cooked, stirring occasionally. 
   
   
8. Season with a little salt and pepper if needed and remove from heat. Adjust the spice with cayenne pepper or Creole seasoning.
   
   
9. Serve immediately with green onions and/or parsley to garnish. Accompany with a crusty bread and salad.
   
   
   

Need More Black History Month Programming Inspiration? 

A cooking class is one of the many activities your company can organize to honor Black History Month! For more ideas to rally your employees, celebrate and take action, check out:

• Our list of six ways your company and your people can celebrate Black History Month
• Our free activation kit, with ready-to-use resources including giving opportunities, communications templates and image suggestions to help you and your people take continued action toward racial justice and equity