Selasie Dotse on Blackness in Fine Dining

Born in Accra, Ghana but raised in the American South, food was always a large part of Selasie's life. For the past 5 years, Chef Selasie has worked at several well-known fine dining restaurants across the San Francisco - Bay area such as Bird Dog, Mourad, SPQR, Avery and Lazy Bear. She currently works as the Chef de Cuisine at Hi Felicia in downtown Oakland, California. Selasie has also started 2 pop-up dinner series during her time in the Bay. Elade Test Kitchen is a dinner series highlighting modern Ghanaian cuisine. This series focuses on the flavors and food she grew up eating; as well as explore how West African flavors and ingredients influenced the African diaspora. A Hard Pill to Swallow is another dinner series meant to acknowledge, showcase, and support Black folks in the beverage, culinary, restaurant and hospitality industries and services. Both dinner series are a celebration of Black folks, our foodways and our contributions to the food world. Find Selasie and her work on on Instagram: @sdotse89 @elade_tk @a_hard_pill_to_swallow