Bryant Terry facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Bryant Terry
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Bryant Terry in 2016
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| Born | January 24, 1974 Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
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| Education | Xavier University of Louisiana New York University (MA) |
| Occupation | Chef, author |
| Spouse(s) | Jidan Terry-Koon |
Bryant Terry, born on January 24, 1974, is an amazing African-American chef, writer, and activist. He focuses on vegan food, which means meals made without any animal products. Bryant Terry is also a big supporter of "food justice". This means he works to make sure everyone, no matter where they live or how much money they have, can get healthy, fresh food.
He has written several popular vegan cookbooks. He also helped write a book about eating organic meals. In 2015, he won a special James Beard Foundation Leadership Award for his work in food justice. Later, in 2021, his book Vegetable Kingdom won an NAACP Image Award.
Contents
Bryant Terry's Early Life and School
Bryant Terry grew up in Memphis, Tennessee. His mom, Beatrice Terry, was a nurse who cared for newborn babies. His dad, Booker Terry, worked to protect the environment.
Bryant went to Xavier University of Louisiana and earned a degree in English. After that, he moved to New York City. There, he went to New York University and got a master's degree in history.
While studying in New York, he heard a hip-hop song about how food is made in big factories. This made him think about food differently. He decided to start eating a plant-based diet, which means mostly fruits, vegetables, grains, and beans. He also began learning about how people were trying to make food fairer for everyone. Because of his new interest, he then joined a special cooking school called the Natural Gourmet Institute for Health and Culinary Arts.
Bryant Terry's Career and Activism
In 2001, Bryant Terry started a program called b-healthy! This program taught young people about food justice. It helped them understand how to create a food system that is fair and good for the planet. The program taught kids in neighborhoods that didn't have many healthy food options how to cook. The kids would then take the food they made home to share with their families.
In 2002, Bryant received a special grant from the Open Society Institute to help b-healthy! grow. He worked with other chef-educators to teach thousands of young people across the United States.
Bryant Terry has also appeared on TV and radio shows. He shared his ideas on the Sundance Channel's show Big Ideas for a Small Planet. He was also a guest chef on the BET series My Two Cents. He even hosted a PBS show called The Endless Feast.
From 2008 to 2010, Bryant was a Food and Society Policy Fellow. This was a national program that helped people work on food issues. In 2015, he became the first Chef-in-Residence at the Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco. This means he was the main chef there, sharing his cooking and food ideas.
In 2021, a publishing company called Ten Speed Press announced that Bryant Terry would start his own book imprint. This new imprint, called 4 Color Books, will focus on books by writers of color.
Writing and Speaking
Bryant Terry's recipes and articles have been in many well-known magazines. These include Gourmet, Food & Wine, and The New York Times Magazine. He also wrote for websites like ABC.com and TheRoot.com.
His column on The Root, called "Eco-Soul Kitchen," shared ideas and recipes for healthy, sustainable eating. He wrote an important essay called "Reclaiming True Grits." In this essay, he talked about how traditional "soul food" used to be very healthy and made with fresh, local ingredients. He explained that over time, many people forgot this and started eating "instant soul food" that wasn't as good for them.
In 2015, Bryant Terry gave a talk at the annual TEDMED conference. His talk was about "Stirring up political change from the kitchen." He showed how cooking and food can help make important changes in the world.
Awards and Recognition
Bryant Terry has received many awards for his work. In 2012, he was named to TheGrio's 100 list, which highlights influential African Americans. His 2014 cookbook, Afro-Vegan, was named one of the best cookbooks of the year by Mother Jones and Serious Eats.
In 2015, he won a James Beard Foundation Leadership Award. This is a very important award in the food world. He also received two other nominations from the James Beard Foundation.
His 2020 book, Vegetable Kingdom: The Abundant World of Vegan Recipes, was highly praised. It won an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work – Instructional for being an excellent instructional book.
Recently, in 2023, Tasting Table named Bryant Terry as one of the "21 Plant-Based Chefs You Need To Know." VegNews also listed him as one of the "37 Creative Chefs Crafting the Future of Vegan Food." In 2024, VegNews again recognized him as one of the "17 Black Vegan Chefs Redefining Plant-Based Food and Community."
His book Afro-Vegan was even listed by VegNews as one of the "Top 100 Vegan Cookbooks of All Time" in 2024.
Personal Life
Bryant Terry married Jidan Koon in September 2010. She works as a consultant. They live in Oakland, California, with their children.
