Subrina and Greg Collier, James Beard nominees and owners of Leah & Louise, created the BayHaven Food and Wine Festival in 2021 to highlight Black foodways while supporting black industry members often left out of culinary events.
From gala dinners and tailgate barbecues to other events tailored for guests’ enjoyment, the festival features multiple events that put purpose ahead of profit and revolutionize how food festivals operate. The Colliers have transformed how these festivals operate by placing drive over profit.
Taste of Memphis
Return of Mid-South’s premier beer festival! Enjoy all-you-can-eat food tasting from local restaurants paired with unlimited craft beer and seltzer samples; all proceeds to Volunteer Memphis.
Few food festivals recognize the profound contribution made by Black diasporic cuisines to world cuisines while at the same time providing education on them and encouraging new culinary voices. The Black Diasporic Food Festival honors them while supporting education efforts and cultivating new culinary voices.
Greg and Subrina, Collier of Leah & Louise, founded this festival to highlight Black culinary experts. They continue their mission today through this event and other BayHaven restaurant group projects.
Bring your greenest outfit and an eager spirit of celebration to this block party featuring music, food, drinks, and vendors! Show support for women-owned businesses while sampling bourbon and barbecue while making memories with us – part of the proceeds will benefit local nonprofit Church Health!
Taste of Africa
Gregory and Subrina Collier’s BayHaven Food & Wine Festival stands apart from most food and wine events by celebrating Black culture. As owners of Leah & Louise – Charlotte’s self-described “modern juke joint”-Gregory and Subrina wanted an event dedicated to Black chefs while supporting culinary talent reaching their dreams.
The festival also supports the Black Food & Wine Experience, an interactive annual event that integrates food, beverage, education, and health to celebrate Black excellence while commemorating culinary culture. Established by Chef Mimi, its goal is to offer emerging Black hospitality professionals an opportunity to create an environment conducive to holistic health through culinary expertise.
While their festival has exceeded initial expectations, their next objective is to recruit more Black women into the business.
Taste of Latin America
Charlotte has become home to major sports teams, museums, and Fortune 500 companies, yet still retains a small-town charm. Charlotte also boasts some beautiful Black-owned restaurants serving delicious cuisine across its urban core.
Greg and Subrina Collier of Leah & Louise and The Yolk sought to organize an event to draw attention to Black culinary traditions. So this fall, they created BayHaven to bring diverse culinary practices together for five days of festivities.
As part of their mission to foster diversity within hospitality industries, the group organized events inspired by historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Events included a Friends of James Beard dinner featuring 2022 Best Chef Southeast winner Ricky Moore and a prom-style homecoming gala. However, their mission goes far beyond serving meals; they aim to foster an inclusive atmosphere while creating networking opportunities among chefs and other hospitality industry experts.
Taste of the Caribbean
Gregory and Subrina Collier began planning the inaugural BayHaven Food & Wine Festival for Charlotte in 2021 to give Charlotte an event that celebrated Black culture. As co-owners of Leah & Louise’s modern juke joint, Gregory and Subrina Collier wanted the festival to draw in new audiences while helping their fellow Black chefs and hospitality professionals.
Dress-to-Impress is an event celebrating African diasporic cuisine’s impact on American foodways and highlighting emerging culinary voices.
At this event, James Beard nominee Cleophus Hetherington (his stage name Chef Ophus) will prepare an extravagant family feast featuring various cuisines. Additionally, there will be a fried chicken battle pitting chefs from Charlotte against those from Atlanta, Chicago, and DMV.
Taste of the Middle East
Greg and Subrina Collier created BayHaven, a celebration of Black foodways, which debuted this month in Charlotte. Their goal was to address some of the inadequacies inherent in traditional Food and Wine Festivals while challenging assumptions about the event industry by prioritizing purpose over profit.
James Beard Award nominee Cleophus Hetherington from Ashville’s Benne on Eagle is one of several chefs scheduled to cook at this year’s festival. Together with Collier, he will host Saturday night’s Family Feast dinner featuring different cuisines.
Other dinner events of note include the Friends of James Beard dinner featuring 2022 Best Chef: Southeast winner Ricky Moore, as well as an HBCU homecoming gala that draws upon its style, history, and culture; this festival takes place across multiple sites around the city, including Camp North End’s historic area.
Taste of Asia
Explore six continents and sample a fantastic array of cultures, cuisines, and wines prepared by chefs worldwide. Utilizing your festival passport, visit multiple global marketplaces and collect stamps for every dish you taste – you may discover your new favorite meal!
Last year’s event was established to recognize and support AAPI communities following incidents of anti-Asian hate and bias crimes reported by Forbes. Tickets and a list of participating restaurants can be purchased on its website.
Make an entrance at this opulent gala featuring cocktail hour and live entertainment before an elegant family-style dinner prepared by James Beard nominated chefs Gregory Collier and Cleophus Hetherington from BayHaven Restaurant Group (both James Beard nominees). Proceeds benefit Madison Square Park Conservancy and City Harvest’s efforts in feeding food-insecure New Yorkers.
Taste of the Pacific
Charlotte restaurant owners have come together to launch a festival that honors Black culture through food and beverage. Running through October in Charlotte’s west and uptown neighborhoods, this event will host chefs from across the nation and dinners and tastings.
This five-day festival, themed Homecoming, draws its inspiration from historically Black colleges and universities. It will increase awareness of Black culinary experts while creating opportunities for those entering hospitality services as newcomers.
Dress to impress gala on Oct 21 will feature cuisine from several chefs and live band performances, in addition to other culinary events and fundraisers at Leah and Louise, a self-described modern juke joint owned by chef Greg and restaurateur Subrina Collier.
