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Duck log, sunchoke bisque, roasted squash, confit cherries and fried greens at The Roosevelt. For the month of February, the Church Hill restaurant is highlighting recipes from the late chef Patrick Clark, the first Black chef to win a James Beard Award.
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A take on chef Clark’s tuna, featuring white beans, artichokes and tomato oil
Virginia-based culinary historian Deb Freeman and Leah Branch, executive chef of The Roosevelt, have become accustomed to working in tandem. One tells the story; the other translates it to the plate.
“I think we both kind of understand each other at this point,” Branch says.
Freeman agrees. “She automatically gets what I’m saying, and vice versa. It almost seems intuitive. We respect each other so much, it comes kind of natural.”
That creative shorthand has become central to their work together — merging scholarship and technique into immersive dining experiences with the passing of plates and stories unfolding at the table.
On Feb. 25 and 26, the duo return with The Rise, a sold-out 10-course dinner that traces the arc of African American history through food. Each course explores the past, present and future of Black foodways, inspired by their profound influence on America’s culinary landscape.
Branch says the themes of The Rise include Indigenous contact, the Great Migration, Harriet Tubman and contemporary Black foodways. With the nation’s 250th anniversary approaching, and the celebration of Black History Month in February, the pair saw an opportunity to examine the country’s foundation through a different lens — particularly the stories that often go untold.
“It seemed like a natural segue to talk about Black food through the years,” Freeman says. “What are the big, significant moments in African American history, and how can we relate that to what’s going on in Black food at the time? Those historical moments over the past 250 years became the entryway into figuring out where we should go culinarily.”
The dinner builds on months of research. Branch has been combing through stacks of cookbooks sourced from friends, eBay and her growing personal collection, along with the WPA Slave Narratives — firsthand accounts from formerly enslaved people. She commits to reading daily; for her, research is as essential as mise en place. The process yields both the discovery of unknown names and the rediscovery of those nearly forgotten.
The collaboration between Branch and Freeman is ongoing. At past dinners, the duo have honored Virginia culinary figures including Edna Lewis, the grande dame of Southern cooking, and Leni Sorensen, chef and founder of Crozet’s Indigo House. They’ve also marked Juneteenth and Black History Month with themed menus. But The Rise extends beyond the commonwealth, spotlighting chefs and culinary figures across the country who rarely receive their due.
“This is nationwide,” Freeman says. “There are chefs represented here who don’t get talked about a lot.”
On the drinks front, Roosevelt Beverage Director and sommelier Troy Hancock will highlight Black winemakers.
While the menu for the forthcoming dinner is a closely held secret, the organizers promise unexpected moments. Branch came up with the name for the two-night series, and she says that the final course looks to the future.
“It was really about being noticed as chefs from first contact with America up to today,” she says. “The last course is [focused on] modern Black chefs — where food is going. Black people have a culinary future in America, and that’s just going to keep growing. It’s a trajectory. It’s moving upward.”
For Branch, that upward motion is reflected in her own journey. In 1994, Patrick Clark became the first Black chef to win a James Beard Award, earning the title of Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic. A trailblazer of American fine dining, Clark served as executive chef at Washington, D.C., luxury hotel The Hay-Adams; was an expert in bistro fare; competed on “Iron Chef”; and cooked alongside Julia Child. Three decades later, Branch, a Chesterfield native, is a James Beard Award semifinalist in the same category — her first year of eligibility and the first nomination for a Richmond chef in several years.
Throughout the month, The Roosevelt has been honoring Clark’s legacy and revisiting his recipes, from chili meatloaf, shrimp cakes and fried oysters with basil to double-whipped creme brulee topped with chocolate mousse. The dishes are brought to life as both tribute and education, and proceeds from the specials benefit mutual aid nonprofit RVA Community Fridges.
“He’s really a chef’s chef — not as widely known by the general public,” Branch says of Clark. “We’re really excited to be able to cook so many of his recipes.”
Few chefs are mining the past, making ripples in the present and looking toward the future as intentionally as Branch, and few storytellers are as committed to excavating Black foodways as Freeman. A Virginia native, Freeman studied journalism and political science at Old Dominion University. She has been exploring African American culinary history for the past decade, committing fully to the research and rigor that comes with bringing these stories to light. While her role is pivotal, she believes the work is far from finished.
“There’s just not enough research, and there’s not enough work being done,” Freeman says. “Because of that, you’re constantly finding out something you had no idea about.”
She cites the example of quilly, a creamy gelatin dessert she recently discovered that was a favorite of Martin Luther King Jr.’s.
“You’re never really done learning and figuring things out and exploring,” Freeman says. “I love that this is still being unearthed, and I think these dinners have become such a great place for people to learn. I wish there were more things like this going on locally.”
As The Roosevelt marks 15 years — a point when many restaurants fade or fall into routine — the sold-out response to the dinner suggests something different is happening. Diners appear eager not just for a meal, but for context.
Branch says, “It’s good to be affirmed in that way. It lets us know that we’re on the right track and can continue doing things that are important to us because it’s resonating. It feels really good.
“Obviously, food is a very intimate experience,” she adds. “Here’s this historical fact about a chef, but then tasting it in a new way — you remember it differently.”
For Freeman, watching those connections happen in real time is the reward.
“It’s my goal that people walk away nourished, not only mentally, but physically as well. I want people to think a little bit more about what they’re eating,” she says. “I think it speaks to the fact that we’re not done. There’s still so much to learn and grow. We’ve persevered and thrived in so many ways, and Black food is emblematic of that.”
