Dreamville fest organizers invite Raleigh chef to curate festival kickoff dining experience

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- With another Dreamville Festival in the books, a Raleigh chef is still on cloud nine after being asked to curate a special private dining experience to kick it off.

"I thought it was the perfect opportunity to incorporate our mission of like building ecosystems and supporting local chefs and telling the story of the diaspora, so I was very intentional in creating a story that really highlighted and celebrated black ingenuity," Chef Adé Carrena said.

Born in West Africa, Carrena honored her home country by recreating a traditional Beninese open air market on the Friday before Dreamville officially kicked off.

"It started with those very authentic flavors, then we told the story of how our enslaved ancestors traveled throughout the Americas and the Caribbean, and how they created beautiful things, even through the unfortunate circumstances that they faced, and so we brought in local chefs who could perfectly tell those stories," Carrena said.

Throughout the process, she knew giving back would be an important part of the event. Carrena intentionally sourced all of her ingredients and made sure to order enough fresh produce to also donate when the event was over.

"We intentionally built partnerships with these different organizations, specifically Black Farmers Hub, Happy Dirt and Tall Grass to donate produce to us. To really tell the entire story of how like community matters and through community, we can all support each other and be there for each other," Carrena said.

The extra produce was donated Sunday to Chef Sera Cuni and her Feed Well Fridges initiative, cooking intentional meals for those who are food insecure.

"Food is such a beautiful way to bring folks together, and food should also be accessible to everyone. So, we were very intentional it was a part of our story and a part of our mission," Carrena said.

Carrena emphasized how grateful she was for all of the help of her team to put this event together, and the chefs from across North Carolina who came together to perfectly execute this beautiful event.

While this is certainly a "pinch me" moment for Carrena, this is just the beginning for this talented Triangle chef.