Jessica B. Harris

Location: New York City

Jessica B. Harris is widely considered a leading authority on the food of the African Diaspora. An educator, scholar, and culinary historian, she has published 12 cookbooks, including High on the Hog: A Culinary Journey from Africa to America (2011), which became the basis of a critically acclaimed four-part Netflix documentary. Dr. Harris is the recipient of lifetime achievement awards from the Southern Food Alliance and the James Beard Foundation.

In addition to writing and lecturing extensively about the culture of Africa in the Americas and making numerous television appearances, Jessica B. Harris taught English for 50 years at Queens College/C.U.N.Y. where she is a professor emerita. Her articles have appeared in Eating Well, Food & Wine, Essence, and The New Yorker, among many others. She founded the Institute for the Study of Culinary Cultures at Dillard University in New Orleans and is a founding member of the Southern Food Alliance. She is also a member of the IACP and Les Dames d’Escoﬃer. In 2021, Time Magazine selected her for their annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Jessica B. Harris holds a Bachelor of Arts in French from Bryn Mawr College, a Master of Arts in French Studies from Queens College, and a Ph.D. in Performance Studies from New York University.

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