Benjamin Dennis IV | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation | Chef, traiteur  |
Benjamin "BJ" Dennis IV is an American Gullah Geechee chef and caterer from Charleston, South Carolina who is known for preserving Gullah Geechee cooking and culture. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] Additionally, he is also notable for his discovery of hill rice in December 2016 in Trinidad, which was thought to have been extinct. [1]
Dennis was born in West Ashley, South Carolina. [7] [6] [8] Dennis has two siblings. [5] Dennis started to learn about cooking from watching and helping his mother and grandparents. [5] [9] He studied at the College of Charleston for one year. [5] He then transferred to Trident Technical College and got a job at Hyman's Seafood. [5] It was at Trident that Dennis changed his major to culinary arts. [5] He later worked as a cook for 82 Queen, Anson's, and Hank's Seafood. [5] In 2004, Dennis traveled to Saint Thomas to work as a cook. [5] [9] In 2011, he became the opening chef at the Cocktail Club. [5] Dennis started a pop-up café in 2012 called "Butcher & Bee" in Charleston, South Carolina. [10]
On March 6, 2015, the Southern Foodways Alliance recorded Dennis' oral history focusing on his Gullah Geechee cooking and culture. [8] In December 2016, he made the discovery of hill rice growing in Trinidad, which was once thought to be extinct. [1]
In 2020, Dennis, Michael Twitty and others were featured in the 4th episode of Padma Lakshmi's show Taste the Nation with Padma Lashmi, which focused on Gullah cuisine. [11]
In 2021, Dennis was featured on Netflix's series High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America. [5] One of Dennis' recipes was featured in Bryant Terry's Black Food: Stories, Art, and Recipes from Across the African Diaspora [A Cookbook], which was also released in 2021. [12] That same year, Dennis temporarily moved to Bluffton to start his position as culinary director at the Lowcountry Fresh Market and Cafe. [2] In 2022, he moved back to Charleston. [2]
In an article published by The New York Times on May 9, 2022, Dennis is said to have encouraged Emily Meggett to write the "first high-profile book on Gullah Geechee cooking," which resulted in her publishing Gullah Geechee Home Cooking: Recipes from the Matriarch of Edisto Island. [13]
Dennis has also participated in Charleston Wine + Food event from 2020 to 2023. [7] The Charleston Wine + Food is a local 501(c )(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting Charleston's culinary scene. [14] Dennis' 2022 Charleston Wine + Food event sold out within minutes. [5]
While attending Trident, Dennis began working as a dishwasher at Hyman’s Seafood in Charleston; the experience convinced him to change his major to culinary arts. Over the next several years, he worked at a variety of different restaurants in Charleston, Savannah, St. Thomas, and West Africa. [15] [16] Upon returning to the United States, he began hosting Gullah-Geechee pop-ups. [15] [17]
In 2021, Dennis moved to Bluffton to serve as the culinary director at Lowcountry Fresh Market and Cafe, [18] then returned to Charleston to lead the food program at the International African American Museum. [19]
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Dennis reviewed the manuscript of Emily Meggett's book on Gullah cuisine, at the request of Meggett's son. Soon after, a literary agent asked Dennis if he would be interested in writing a book; he said that the first book on Gullah cuisine should be Meggett's. [20] That book, Gullah Geechee Home Cooking, was published by Abrams Books in 2022. [21] In 2022, Dennis and Nicole A. Taylor were collaborating on a book to be released through Penguin Random House. [15]
Dennis has also participated in the Charleston Wine + Food Festival. [22]