A Taste of Tradition: Collard Greens Bring Over 1,000 Detroiters Together

Article and Photos by Kahn Santori

Over 1,000 patrons attended the 3rd annual “Collard Green Cook Off” on Saturday, July 26 at the Samaritan Center’s Wellness Center Gym on Detroit’s east side. The culinary contest featured Chef Bee of Sisters on Roll, Kenyatta Brown of Delectable Goods, Chef Moe Vito of A Thoughtful Plate LLC, Josmine Evans of Indigo Culinary Co., Lavon Jones of Unique Eats, Chef Terri of Trendy Celebrations, and Chef Kisha of Ms. Kisha’s Kitchen in a winner take all cook-off.

The event was produced and organized by Khary Frazier, the founder of Detroit is Different media content and cultural events group. He started the event after a conversation with his grandmother nudged him into thinking of a way to combine creativity and urban farming. The event partner is the Detroit Black Farmer Land Fund of which all greens in the Cook-Off are grown on DBFLF farms. The growers are Mr. Willie of WJP Farms; Mama Jerry of Oakland Ave Farms; Donnie Jones of Occupy Yourself; Mama Tree of Treetop Farms; and Romondo of Urban Youth Agriculture.

“The inception of that idea actually started in the 2010s. I didn’t bring it to life till I was doing our ‘a lot of studio’ project which was bringing to life a production studio and a soundstage studio in the urban garden that we had,” says Frazier. “I was giving away a lot of collard greens, hosting podcast discussions, and a lot of people were performing and that combination for year 1 and 2, 2021 and 2022. For year 2023 I said, ‘We want to close with the Collard Green Cook-off.’”

Frazier secured funding from the Build Institute, collaborated with his Detroit is Different cohort Suzanne Cleage and curated an event that was enriching for the soul as well as the stomach.

The attendees at the event were given a voting chip and a complimentary tasting ticket to sample collard greens from the 7 contestants (with the option to purchase more tickets). The contestants cooked 60 pounds of collard greens each using smoked turkey or vegan options. Growers were also on hand to answer questions, talk farming, hand out raw collard greens. The mood was jubilant as the attendees fellowshipped over music, speeches from sponsors, and a dance presentation.

“When I walked in the building, I was like, ‘Oh yeah, I’m in the right sport,’” says attendee Crystal Bailey. “The collard greens, the aroma was everything!”

The history of the collard green goes back to West Africa. As slavery began in the early 1600s, West African women would hide the seeds of collard greens in their hair during the middle passage. Slave masters at the time saw no value in the seeds and allowed the slaves to grow and consume them. In turn, collard green has become sewn within the fabric of the African diaspora and that legacy has been kept alive by grandmothers and farmers alike.

“I love that it is a celebration of a specific cultural cuisine and dish. There’s so much history behind it, I love being able to tell that story through the promotion of the ‘Collard Green Cook Off’ through the chefs that participating,” says Ederique Goudia of In the Business of Food, who also was a judge for the competition

The panel of judges also included Orlando Bailey of Outlier Media, comedians Howie Bell and Coco, and Mikiah Glynn of Brix Wine judged the collard greens on taste, creativity, and presentation. At the end, the title of “Collard Green Cook-Off Champion” was awarded to a teary eyed Ms. Kisha’s Kitchen. She thanked the crowd and her supporters as she held a WWE styled championship belt above her head. The award winning greens were grown by Mama Tree of Treetop Farms.

Frazier sees a bright future for the “Collard Green Cook Off” as he hopes to add a playoff system, and host it in separate parts of town. “I would like to bring back the concept of the playoffs and the championship again. This has to touch the east side and west side,” Frazier says.