YouTube Hit Original Flava Launches Afro-Caribbean Food Festival Online

It’s part of an effort to build a representative cooking studio

Craig and Shaun McAnuff, behind the hit Caribbean food channel and book series Original Flava, are launching an online Afro-Caribbean food festival as part of their efforts to build a studio for underrepresented talent in food media. Timed to coincide with Black History Month, legendary chef Ainsley Harriot, Great British Bake Off contestant and presenter Liam Charles, vegan Youtube creator Rachel Ama, food writers Riaz Phillips and Melissa Thompson, and young chef Omari McQueen are on the bill for “Flava Festival,” running from 12 p.m. — 6 p.m. on Facebook Live, Saturday 17 October.

The festival is part of the McAnuffs’ wider effort to build a new media studio and mentoring programme for their shows and upcoming food media talent, the former of which started life at their Nan’s house in Thornton Heath, south east London. The ultimate goal is genuine representation for young Black chefs and cooks: “We believe in representation, growing up, there were a small amount of black chefs on our screens. We feel it’s time that younger chefs see more chefs that look like them.”

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