NEPTUNES BAR AND GRILL NEWARK PROFESSIONAL

Interspersed with the interviews of past and current restaurateurs are multi-media presentations from local students who participated in the 'What Soul Food Means to Me and My Family' contest as well as dance performances by the Asbury Park Technical Academy of Dance as well as Neptune High School alumnus and professional dancer Malcolm Jones.įocusing on food also blends well with the national Black History Month theme of family, Harris said. 'You can have soul food without it being southern,' she said. The local restaurants feature specialize not just in soul food, but also Caribbean, Haitian and Ethiopian cuisine. Smith said that is how the event was named 'Food for the Soul' rather than soul food, a name that is more commonly associated with Southern Black cuisine. 'They care about the people they serve,' she said. Wanda Smith, another planning committee member who interviewed many of the chefs, said she heard a common refrain in each of the restaurants.

Celebrity chef and Newark native Ameer Natson will be the keynote speaker. In addition to honoring the historic Black restaurants, the event also interviewed the chefs behind nearly a dozen Black-owned restaurants that operate in Neptune and Asbury Park today. More: Where to taste the foods of the African diaspora in New Jersey More: Food of the African diaspora across New Jersey 'I think people need to know a little about our history of food and what came with us from Africa into the United States,' she said. Harris said the committee decided to have its local theme centered around soul food and Black-owned restaurants after reading an article on African food written by the USA TODAY Network New Jersey. The Neptune Black History Month Planning Committee has focused on recognizing the local figures so residents can learn and better understand the history of the Black leaders that shaped Neptune and Asbury Park.

Those four restaurants, which dated back to the 1960s through the early 2000s, have closed, and many of the owners have passed away. The event - Food for the Soul: Celebrating Our African Roots - launches online Friday and will be available to watch over the next few weeks on YouTube. 'They were always willing to help the community whether they fed them or encouraged or employed them.' 'To say they helped others, yes, that’s a common thread,' said Dianna Harris, chairwoman of Neptune's Black History Month Planning Committee.

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