Media Contact:
Tara G. Cunningham
Director of Communications
tcunningham@dillard.edu
504-816-4204
New Orleans, LA – Dillard University is excited to announce Chef Tanya Holland as the university’s Mellon Fellow, supported by a generous fellowship from the Mellon Foundation. Holland’s project includes support for campus food insecurity initiatives, study abroad opportunities, and curriculum development for Dillard University’s Food Studies program.
Tanya Holland founded the famous and beloved Brown Sugar Kitchen restaurant located in Oakland, California, which received multiple Michelin Bib Gourmand awards. She is the author of Tanya Holland’s California Soul, A Culinary Journey West (Tenspeed Press 2022,) The Brown Sugar Kitchen Cookbook (Chronicle Books 2014) and New Soul Cooking (Stewart, Tabori and Chang 2003.) She competed on the fifteenth season of Top Chef on Bravo and was the co-host of Food Network’s Melting Pot Soul Kitchen from 2000 to 2003. A frequent contributor to the James Beard Foundation as a writer and chef, she now serves on the Board of Trustees and is past Chef Chair of the Awards Committee. Holland has served as the co-president of the San Francisco chapter of the prestigious Les Dames d’Escoffier International.
As a chef, Holland has traveled extensively in pursuit of more experience and knowledge. Having been appointed as a Culinary Diplomat by the United States’ Foreign Service Department for tours in Kazakhstan and Mexico, and now Uganda, she recently cooked for the Prime Minister of Thailand during the APEC Summit. Holland also has taught classes in France for gastronomic travelers and co-hosts events with Villa Albertine, the cultural arm of the French Consulate in the United States. She has also traveled with the GlobalSF delegation to discuss food system sustainability in the context of climate change to Singapore, Hong Kong, Sweden, Denmark and Japan. In 2024, she led her own culinary tour in Lisbon through her Travels With Tanya company.
“Chef Tanya Holland is a global culinary ambassador. We look forward to collaborating with her to support our Food Studies students and faculty” said Zella Palmer, Chair, Ray Charles Program.
About the Ray Charles Program in African American Material Culture
The mission of the Dillard University Ray Charles Program in African American Material Culture is to research, document, disseminate, preserve, and celebrate African American culture and foodways in the South. New Orleans sits at the historical and cultural intersection of diverse groups with distinct and recognizable pasts. This program aims to understand how African, Caribbean, European, and American cultures coalesced to create a culture that is uniquely African American. The Ray Charles Program takes a deeper look at how African American culture is portrayed and taught in an effort to not only preserve that culture, but allow our students to take ownership of it as well. For more information visit the Ray Charles Program in African American Material Culture.
About Dillard University
Dillard University is a historically Black institution that cultivates leaders who live ethically, think and communicate precisely, and act courageously to make the world a better place. Located in New Orleans, Dillard is a private faith-based liberal arts university that offers 22 majors and two certificate programs. Ranked 5th on 2021 The New York Times Overall Mobility Index and 14th in 2022 by Academic Influence for Best Colleges and Universities by Academic Stewardship, Dillard’s call to future leaders is to Write Your Legacy. Find out more about Louisiana’s oldest HBCU by visiting www.dillard.edu.