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Global Businesses
Keep Passions Alive Through Reinvention
TIA MOWRY
Builds Food Empire with New Show and Cookbook
Special Edition 2021
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Baltimore’s
Breaking Bread and Hotel Revival Are Blessing the Community STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY KALIN THOMAS The sizzle of chicken wings being lowered into hot oil is the beginning of Kimberly Ellis’ award-winning “sticky wings.” The tasty, sticky sauce she covers them in has made the wings the most popular item on the menu of her restaurant, Breaking Bread (@breakingbreadnation). The Baltimore native and her team have come back to the city’s only boutique art hotel, Hotel Revival, to show what it was like being able to use the hotel’s kitchen to keep her business going during the height of the pandemic. Hotel Revival (@revivalbaltimore) is located in the tony, historic arts district of Mt. Vernon, just a stone’s throw from the United States’ f irst Washington Monument. As Ellis and her son and sous chef, James, plate her perfectly prepared wings, salmon and lamb chops, she looks out at the nearly panoramic view from Hotel Revival’s top floor restaurant, Topside, and shares memories of how her business and relationship with the hotel all came about. 8 CUISINE NOIR | SPECIAL EDITION 2021
FROM RECOVERY TO RESTAURANT OWNER “As I look out to the far left of the Washington Monument, I can see my old high school, Baltimore City College,” Ellis says with a sigh. “And as I look to the far right of the monument, I can see Mercy Hospital, where not long ago, I was expecting to die. And yet here I am, still doing what I love,” she shares. After getting sick, Ellis had to have surgery. “It was supposed to be outpatient surgery but the surgery lasted 10 hours and I started hemorrhaging,” Ellis recalls. “And I literally gave my husband, Edward, my last will and testament from my hospital room. And I told him to be sure my sons, who were teens at the time, had my recipes because girls their age can’t cook.” But Ellis came through that health scare and with a different attitude about work. “I said I was never going to do what I don’t love doing ever again,” she explains. “I wanted to do what makes my heart sing, and I love
food! I love cooking it, growing it, f ishing, farming and crabbing. I love it all! And I love to feed people and sit down and talk to people,” she says with excitement. And that’s when Breaking Bread was born. FEEDING AND BLESSING THE COMMUNITY Ellis started preparing meals out of her home. “I would call my friends and coworkers at Care F irst and tell them that I was cooking on Friday and, if they could get me ten orders, their meal would be free,” Ellis recalls. “Then people started asking me about catering. And that summer, we did farmers markets and food festivals, and my sticky sauce became a hit with customers,” she says. Word of mouth got so good that she needed a separate space to work from, so she rented a building in Baltimore’s Pig Town neighborhood, just a block from where her grandmother used to own Hattie’s Luncheonette. And in November of 2014, Breaking Bread
opened as a restaurant and catering company. Along with being a popular community spot for good food, like her “awesome fries” and her top-selling sticky wings and jerk turkey lamb burgers, Breaking Bread also became a community hub for political candidates as well as conversations with police during the 2015 uprising after the police killing of Freddy Gray. But Ellis says the real blessing was being able to mentor kids through her nonprof it, Chewmanity. “Our tagline for Breaking Bread is ‘Great Food for All Chewmanity,’ so that’s what we decided to call our nonprof it,” she says. “We had cooking classes on the second floor of the restaurant, and we have a relationship with a community grocery store that will have someone come out and speak to the class about fresh vs. frozen, store brand vs. name brand, couponing and feeding a family of six on $50 a week in food stamps.” KEEPING THE FAITH THROUGH THE PANDEMIC Then came the pandemic. Breaking Bread could no longer serve guests in the restaurant, but it stayed open because it was feeding frontline medical workers, so it was considered an essential business. The loss of dine-in customers caused a decrease in income and an increase in stress from their landlord demanding that they pay their rent, which was months
late. “He kept threatening to put us out, even though the city had announced a moratorium on evictions for not paying rent,” laments Ellis. “And my rent at the time was $3,400 a month. On top of that, we kept all of our staff, so we were carrying them too,” she adds. But then she received a miracle. “We got contacted by [celebrity chef] Jose Andres’ World Central Kitchen to help supply meals to the needy. And that really was a gamechanger for us because it alleviated a lot of the stress of what we were going to do with all the food we still had.” THE HOTEL REVIVAL BLESSING Then the lease with their landlord ended in December of 2020. Still, Ellis’ strong faith continued, and Hotel Revival showed up. “Shout out to Jason, Dante and Donal, who was the kitchen manager. They were awesome,” shouts Ellis. Hotel Revival also has a commitment to helping the community. And Jason Bass, their f irst director of culture and impact, creates ways to make that happen. “When the company shares their core values, I’m responsible for connecting that with actions,” says Bass, who is also a Baltimore native and attended the same colleges as Ellis. He continues, “We were introduced to Breaking Bread through a partnership with Dr. Nia Banks of The Art of Balance Wellness Spa. We put it out there that we had an
additional kitchen that we weren’t using and wanted to donate and she connected us with Kim Ellis. And after hearing her story and tasting her food, we thought it made a lot of sense for us to offer our kitchen to her.” NEW BUILDING AND BLESSINGS Once Hotel Revival’s restaurant reopened, Breaking Bread had to look for another location. But through the help of her best friend and business partner, Catherine Inniss, who is co-owner and COO of the restaurant and a real estate agent, Ellis was able to f ind a new location just blocks away from Hotel Revival. “We recently closed on three sideby-side buildings at 220, 222, and 224 Park Avenue,” Ellis effuses. “Now we’re in the process of renovations.” Ellis hopes to reopen by February 2022. She says the pandemic has taught her to embrace what really matters, saying, “How you treat people matters. And so our restaurant is all about being that place for everyone to be fed and be safe no matter your race, sex, religion, politics, whatever. You’re welcome here.” She gets emotional, concluding, “I want to feed bellies and souls. Our food is great and it wins awards, but it’s not just about that. It’s about being a blessing to other people. And I’m just grateful that God chose me to be the vessel to do it. I’m blessed and I’m living my best life.”
Kimberly Ellis plating her top-selling sticky wings
Kimberly Ellis at Breaking Bread's new location
Jason Bass
Kimberly Ellis and her team WWW.CUISINENOIRMAG.COM
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Cover Story
Tia Mowry Making Money Moves and Building Her Empire While Being Her Authentic Self BY ANGELA P. MOORE
T
CREATIVE TIME With the country still in the middle of a pandemic, the talented actress has managed to continue pursuing her dreams and stay creative. Since the pandemic, the mom of two has found herself in the kitchen more than ever. “With two kids in the house, we absolutely had to get creative during lockdown. One of our favorite activities was creating fun recipes in the kitchen. Cory and I spent a lot of time with the kids in their playroom – there were arts and crafts, tea parties, video games and more,” says Mowry. With a career spanning three decades, Mowry is known internationally after becoming a pop culture icon starring in the hit sitcom “Sister, Sister.” She currently stars in Netflix's award-winning series “Family Reunion,” which won an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Children's Program. She released her f irst cookbook, “Whole New You,” in 2017, which is f illed with recipes, life-changing information and resources to 12 CUISINE NOIR | SPECIAL EDITION 2021
help you enjoy your best life. Her follow-up, “The Quick F ix Kitchen,” hit bookstore shelves and kitchen counters in September. “All my cookbook inspiration comes from my family. In the Mowry household, food and family have always gone hand in hand. The recipes in ‘The Quick F ix Kitchen’ are family-friendly, delicious and accessible/ easy to follow. It took over a year of prepping. I poured my heart into this book, meticulously choosing recipes that my family and I love. I am in love and cannot wait for you to get the recipes.” FOOD, FAMILY AND FUN Managing a household is a job in itself. Try adding a family, cooking meals, a career and a global crisis to the equation and life can become even more challenging. Furthermore, it takes a dedicated person, a good team and lots of planning to balance it all and maintain one's sanity. “You know, life is all about balance, but at the end of the day, family comes f irst. The pandemic has almost been a blessing in disguise because it has allowed me to work from home. In between zooms, I'm playing with dinosaurs, cutting up quesadillas and listening to detailed explanations of each and every Pokémon. “Regarding balancing my different projects, I have an incredible team who understand me and know my passions. They help me create a schedule where I can be on set while simultaneously designing cookbook packages while also f inding time to share my favorite things on Instagram; they help me follow my dreams.” In many households, Sundays tend to be reserved for family, attending church, cooking favorite meals or a day of catching up on rest and relaxation. Things are no different for this celebrity family. “Sunday is def initely family day in our house. Currently, we are loving sheet pan dinners. It's such an easy, delicious meal. You
PHOTOGRAPHY: MATT ARMENDARIZ
ia Mowry is at it again. This time the multitalented actress, producer, author and entrepreneur has inked a mega-licensing deal with Kin and TV One's sister network, CLEO TV, to bring “Tia Mowry's Quick F ix” to cable television for the f irst time beginning in October. This is a rare cable syndication deal for a web series. With a strong social media presence and over 21 million followers between all her social media platforms, Mowry is the epitome of embracing the power of social media. According to Kin, Mowry’s channel is its fastest growing to date, and the deal gives the franchise an opportunity for expansion by reaching a new audience. Launched in 2017, CLEO TV plans to roll out 80 of the more than 150 episodes that can be found on the popular YouTube channel that helps viewers solve life's little dilemmas fast, from quick ideas for a weeknight meal and organizational hacks to tackle clutter, to beauty tips that get you out the door in a flash. “’Tia Mowry's Quick F ix’ is coming to a television near you. I'm so thrilled to share my YouTube adventures on the big screen. There is so much viewers can look forward to. We've got all kinds of videos [from] over the years. I've been lucky enough to capture my kids' birthdays, fun and tasty recipes with my dad, personal conversations with my husband Cory and more. You really get an inside look into my life,” Mowry announces with excitement.
just place your ingredients onto the pan, throw it in the oven, and package up the leftovers for the week when you're done. We also like mixing it up with breakfast for dinner. Sheet pancakes are a staple in our house. I'll cut up extra fruit and make extra pancakes for breakfasts later in the week.” EXPANDING EMPIRE AND LEGACY In addition to a licensing deal with CLEO TV and a new cookbook, Mowry launched her own vitamin line in 2020. “Anser is my baby! Each product was created with so much love, precision, thought and care. I started Anser because I was tired of not seeing people like myself represented in the wellness space. So, I took charge and decided to create my own line of supplements. Teaming up with UTA Ventures and BioSchwartz, I was able to manifest my ideas, fuel my passion and grow Anser. Our products are healthy, unique and state-of-the-art. The main thing that sets Anser apart from other vitamins is its accessibility. Anser is a brand for the people. This year we launched in Target – a store where everybody shops. We pride ourselves in being present and available,” says Mowry. There's more. Mowry is putting the f inishing touches on her upcoming housewares line, Spice by Tia Mowry. She’s the latest celebrity to partner with Gibson, a leading producer of housewares products, on an extensive collection that will include prep tools and gadgets, cookware, bakeware, storage, serveware, dinnerware and drinkware, as well as hydration and outdoor products.
When asked what legacy she would like to leave behind, she says, “Wow, I love this question. I def initely want to be remembered for inspiring health and wellness and for making a difference in people's lives. My supplement line, Anser, has given me an incredible platform to make this happen. I've experienced f irsthand the frustration of not knowing what was wrong, why you were feeling ill, and having no knowledge of how to f ix it. So I took action. I want to leave behind a legacy of change, inspiring people all over the world that it's okay not to be okay – your health should come f irst.”
QUICK TOMATO SAUCE Use this sauce for pasta or pizza as well as for cooking meatballs. It is a quick tomato sauce that doesn’t have any sugar, like some of the jarred sauces. MAKES: 3½ cups | PREP TIME: 5 minutes | TOTAL TIME: 30 minutes INGREDIENTS ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil 2 tablespoons tomato paste 1 small onion, grated 1 teaspoon kosher salt 3 garlic cloves, grated 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes PREPARATION 1. I n a deep skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. 2. When the oil is hot, add the onion and sauté for 5 minutes, or until soft. Add garlic and sauté for another minute. Add the canned tomatoes, tomato paste, salt, and pepper and stir well. Let simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally so it doesn’t stick to the pan. Excerpted from THE QUICK F iX KITCHEN copyright © 2021 by Tia Mowry-Hardict.
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Resilience and Reinvention Carry Business Owners Through a
PANDEMIC IN BRAZIL
C
OVID-19, a word and virus that has slipped into our lives domestically and worldwide. Because of a lack of vaccines, misinformation and a Brazilian president who refused the shipment of the vaccines early in the pandemic, no place in South America has been hit harder than Brazil. China offered the vaccine to the country but its president, Jair Bolsonaro, refused it, saying on his social media page, “The Brazilian people will not be anyone’s guinea pig.” According to the WHO (World Health Organization) from January 3, 2020 to August 30, 2021 Brazil’s total conf irmed case count was 20,728,605 with conf irmed deaths of 579,010 along with a total vaccination count as of August 27, 2021 of 177,094,781 (WHO, 2021). ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OF CARNIVAL When you think of Brazil’s Carnival, it brings to mind 30 CUISINE NOIR | SPECIAL EDITION 2021
one of the biggest tourist attractions and money makers the country has to offer. Of course, the most famous Carnival is in Rio de Janeiro, the party town of Brazil. Each year, Carnival is held in February at the Sambadrome which was built especially for the cultural event and designed by the brilliant Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer. Thousands of people and businesses large and small depend on the monies that come as
a result of this major multi-city event. According to Riotur, the off icial tourism website of Rio, Carnival drew 2.1 million visitors and generated $725 million in revenue in 2020 (Housold, 2020). After COVID hit, all of that came to a screeching halt. With Carnival 2021 canceled because of the pandemic, it caused a major ripple effect on the economy of the city to the tune of $1 billion dollars (Moor, 2021). “No one imagined Rio without Carnival,” says Ferrera Vierira, the granddaughter of a legendary f igure from the event. She has been part of this event since the age of nine. A study done by researchers Claudio Considera and Juliana Trece revealed that the amount of money lost is equivalent to 1.4% of Rio de Janeiro’s GDP (Moor, 2021). Street vendors, seamstresses who put together the costumes, van services and shopkeepers, who for the most part Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology are people of color, all took
PHOTOGRAPHY: LEONARDO CARRATO, ANGELICA MOREIRA, VLADIMIR ILITCH AND JOSUEL QUEIROZ
BY FRED WILDS
a major f inancial loss. Many of the people who live in the favelas (slums) spend an entire year preparing their samba routines and costumes to win the samba competition and money. Of course, Rio wasn’t the only major city where Carnival was canceled. Salvador da Bahia was another. Losses to a business such as an ice factory where Carnival represented 10% of their annual turnover of ice or the beverage distributors who suffered losses that represented 80% of their annual sales was devastating (Chagas, 2021). NO TOURISTS, NO BUSINESS Carnival isn’t the only thing that builds up the country’s economy, especially for underserved people of color who have small businesses that depend on tourism. For that, we can look at Salvador da Bahia, a city where 80% of the population is of African heritage and proud of it. In addition to Carnival, this city depends very heavily on tourism and tourists. I have taken groups there many times to experience and learn about the AfroBrazilian culture with the help of Josuel Queiroz, owner of Olafemitours (@olafemitours). His company’s specialty is cultural tourism and the Afrocentric history of Salvador. Queiroz explains that COVID and the lack of incoming tourists have made it very diff icult for him and many other tour companies, bus operators and tour guides to make a living. Between March and November of 2020, incoming international and domestic tourist numbers dropped completely. Parks, beaches, churches, restaurants, museums, etc. all closed along with the cancelation of flights coming into Salvador. Queiroz’s last group was in March 2020 and his business was without tourists from March to November 2020. According to Queiroz, “Many van and bus owners who used their vehicles to transport tourists lost their vehicles back to the banks if they paid with a loan. Some of them had to even sell their cars and vans just to put food on the table. Restaurant owners, many of whom had turned their homes into small restaurants had to close and this also included the street vendor carts.” One of the things Queiroz wanted to emphasize is the people want the vaccine but
Ajeum has been around for nine years, and as Moreira describes it, “Ajeum specializes in food and spices of the African diaspora. The food is prepared and brought to the table for each person to share family-style.” Ajeum in the Yoruba language means “to share.” Before the pandemic, the restaurant did especially well as a home-based restaurant. When asked whether her customers were local Brazilians or tourists, Moreira replies, “My client base is very diverse, with African American tourists being a large part of it, as well as many locals, especially on Sundays. Most of my European client base come to take culinary classes.” After the pandemic hit, she found herself “without floor,” Angelica Moreira Brazilian slang for not knowing what to do. She had to close for 18 months, which is when her resilience kicked in. She shares, “Black women have the capacity to reinvent themselves.” She did that by holding cooking classes online and receiving help from various donations. Because her restaurant was in her house, she did not have to worry about paying staff or rent like many of the other restaurants, which helped considerably. After the 18-month lockdown, with mask-wearing requirements and vaccination rates increasing in Salvador, she reopened as things are starting to normalize again. She practices strict safety protocols in her home and restaurant. For now, patrons must call and make reservations ahead of time, no exceptions. The tables have been placed Josuel Queiroz outside, and if you must enter the house for any reason, you there is not enough to go around. With things must wear a mask. Moreira’s message to all getting a little better and tourists starting Black brothers and sisters is, “Come visit and to somewhat return, Queiroz says, “I miss learn about another side of Africa. Learn receiving my Black brothers and sisters from about the other brothers and sisters that were overseas. Please come visit us.” separated by the Atlantic here in Salvador. Come learn about what we have preserved STAYING ABOVE THE FLOOR as a culture.” Some small home-operated restaurants closed and have not reopened, while others are open with strict safety protocols in place. Chagas,Monica (2021, January 25). Carnival in Bahia CANCELED? Understand the Government's Ajeum da Diaspora (@ajeumdadiaspora), an Decision on the Pandemic; Hausold, Andrea (2020, January 13) exquisite gem of a restaurant, is owned and Tourism Review - 1.9 million Tourists Are Expected During The operated by Angelica Moreira. I eat there on Rio Carnival; Moor, Richard (2021, February 21) Tourism Review: every visit to Salvador because not only is Rio De Janeiro Loses US $1 Billion Due to Carnival Cancellation; NYCTRACK (2021, August 21) New York Times – Tracking the every dish amazing, dining there fully im- Coronavirus in Brazil; WHO (2021, August) World Health merses me in the Afro-Brazilian culture. Organization Coronavirus Dashboard. WWW.CUISINENOIRMAG.COM
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SAVOR A WEEKEND IN BOURBON CITY
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