Babe Cave

In this episode, celebrating Black History Month, Amanda Polick dives into the life of Edna Lewis. A woman who became the Grand Dame of Southern Cooking not by following culinary trends, but by staying true to her roots.  Edna's path was anything but linear. She worked as a seamstress making dresses for Marilyn Monroe, threw legendary dinner parties in NYC's bohemian art scene, and eventually became head chef and co-owner of Cafe Nicholson, where literary giants like Tennessee Williams and Eleanor Roosevelt came to eat her roast chicken and chocolate soufflé. But the real turning point came when her editor told her she was telling two different stories—and forced her to choose the one only she could tell. In this episode, discover: → How growing up in Freetown, Virginia (a community founded by formerly enslaved people) shaped everything about Edna's approach to food and community → The epic dinner parties that led to her running one of NYC's most celebrated restaurants with zero professional training →