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Chef Wanda Blake stands under photographer Brant Ward’s San Francisco Chronicle photo of Blake’s idol, Chef Edna Lewis, who is shown in conversation with Marion Cunningham at Beringer’s Great Women Chefs series in 1987.

The Buttermilk Roast Guinea Fowl Blake is holding is the centerpiece for A Southern Farmer's Summer Supper, a menu the chef devised to illustrate Dr. Gail Myers’s new documentary on African American farmers, Rhythms of the Land. Read our interview with Dr. Myers and try out the recipes. Also on the plate are Blake’s Southern-Style Braised Mustard Greens (featured in our Spring 2022 issue) and the chef’s famous Pepper Chowchow, a packaged condiment she perfected during the pandemic lockdowns to sell online and at her pop-ups. Her version of a traditional Southern pickled relish adds delightful crunch, color, and flavor to many dishes.

The portrait of Chef Wanda is by Dana Plucinski, an Oakland-based recipe developer and food photographer whose images have been featured in the San Francisco Chronicle, Forbes, Food & Wine, and more. Find her on Instagram at @baydish.