Nikki and Paul Polk of Charlotte's Southern Deli and Tapas (Photo by Eileen Mellon)
Nikki and Paul Polk, the husband-and-wife team behind the Black-owned lunchtime eatery Charlotte’s Southern Deli and Tapas, located at 200 S. 10th St., are using Juneteenth as a chance to uplift and showcase other Black chefs. On Saturday, June 18, from 8 to 11 p.m., the duo will host the second annual Jubilee Soiree, a celebration of Black culture and freedom through food and drink.
The Polks say that Juneteenth events are often thrown during the day or outside, and the pair of Johnson & Wales graduates want to put their own fresh spin on the festivities, much like their approach to Southern cuisine, with a menu featuring dishes such as smoked trout and garden gumbo.
Juneteenth, also known as Jubilee Day, marks when U.S. soldiers delivered the news in Texas in 1865 that slavery had been abolished nearly two and a half years earlier with the Emancipation Proclamation. Although slavery has been illegal in America for over 150 years, its legacy of systemic racism and other obstacles continues to have an impact on the Black community, particularly in the restaurant industry.
“Usually jubilee is family-based, but we made it a 21-and-up event and want everyone to be cute, get their cocktail on, enjoy good food, hang out and offer something kind of elevated,” Nikki says. “It’s a celebration, so it shouldn’t have to just be a picnic, it can be [something like] this as well.”
Taking notice of the lack of events showcasing Black chefs in the community, last year the Polks threw an inaugural Juneteenth celebration, hosting over 200 people. This year the event has been capped at 125 tickets to make for a more intimate gathering.
The Polks say that the focus of the event is on highlighting Black members of the culinary community, strikingly underrepresented in the field, and creating an environment where everyone feels supported and welcomed.
“It's exposure for people; we’re bringing a lot of people who are either trying to venture out on their own or are on their own,” Paul says, noting that he and Nikki understand the difficulties of gaining that exposure, especially after becoming restaurateurs less than a year before the pandemic.
The pair want to push for Black excellence in the food and beverage world and establish a local network of culinary leaders who cook together and help push the envelope of what diners expect from Black chefs.
“[It's] crazy how many people of color ... work in the restaurant industry, but it's always just like a job, not something we hold to a standard because we’ve never been in a position to hold that standard,” Nikki says. “Now that Paul and I have that opportunity to create that platform, we definitely want to do it.”
The lineup of talent for the soiree includes George Carroll, executive chef of The Savory Grain in the Fan; Justin Ross, owner of online bakery JC Desserts and a recent contestant on season eight of Food Network’s “Spring Baking Championship”; chef and restaurateur Mike Lindsey of Lindsey Food Group, which includes Lillie Pearl, Jubilee, and Buttermilk and Honey; Lynchburg’s Candace Vinson, executive chef of The Water Dog and Glass House, with whom the Polks previously worked; and Tevon Tyrell of the Jamaican-inspired traveling pop-up Hummingbird Island.
“We just want exposure and opportunity,” Nikki says. “I know there's Black Restaurant Week, but it shouldn’t just be a week. People should know that we’re out here and capable and we can do elevated cuisine.”
Her sentiments are echoed by her partner.
“When everyone looks up the Black restaurants, they're looking for soul food, and if they want to do something higher, they go elsewhere or they get a private caterer, but why not be able to just do it at a restaurant?” asks Paul, whose roots are in cooking, his great-grandmother helming a kitchen and his grandmother an oyster shucker.
During the walk-around tasting, an experience that’s meant to inspire conversation, each chef will prepare their own small plates, from a play on shrimp and grits to oysters with an apple pie mignonette and a braised lamb dish from Lindsey’s newly minted Jubilee.
Paul has created the cocktail menu for the evening, which includes a milk punch libation, a butterfly pea ice cube and a smoky offering called Miss Simone and a strawberry sour drink featuring Belle Isle Moonshine dubbed Strawberry Letter. Flashing Lights is a floral Champagne sipper, while Between the Sheets is described as a citrusy hug of warm cognac and rum.
“We want to slow it down and have it be a cocktail party,” Nikki says, noting that cocktail attire is encouraged. “It's going to be a good time, we’re pretty excited over here. We’re coming to the realization if you want to do something like that, you have to do it yourself.
“I’m doing this so people can come, I don’t want it to be a casual event because obviously we can make casual food — we can do more than that,” she adds, speaking about her own restaurant and those of fellow Black chefs. “This history is in our lineage, and as Black people we really go away from it.”
The Jubilee Soiree is a 21-plus event, and tickets are $10 plus fees.