Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:01:06 — 83.9MB)
Subscribe: Spotify | Pandora | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSS | More
On this edition of The NOLADrinks Show, we’re back with new shows here in 2021! To start things off, we have an important conversation with the team from Turning Tables. The program is “changing the face of hospitality by cultivating leadership and creating a model for equitable access to career pathways.” We talk with program leaders, including founder and director, Touré Folkes, educators, and students, both past and present.
Pictured above – From left front row – Alana Peck, Touré Folkes, Deniseea Taylor. From left back row – Bryan Dias, Roxy Eve Narvaez, Jeri Guilford, Geoffrey Wilson, and Tim Stevens.
The NOLADrinks Show – Turning Tables – 2021Ep1
In our featured interview, taped at the Southern Food and Beverage Museum, we talk with several participants in the Turning Tables program, including Touré Folkes, who started the program here in New Orleans.
It is a terrific organization that “advocates for diversity, visibility, and inclusivity in the hospitality industry by providing mentorship, educational tools, and platforms to support and sustain the Black and Brown communities of New Orleans.”
Turning Tables recently graduated their second class of students, called “externs.” We talk with some of the externs who participated in the program. We also talk with some of the educators and mentors that bring their wide-ranging experience and knowledge to the fore.
Also, we touch on the experiential learning aspect of the program, the emphasis on health and wellness, and the camaraderie and kinship that is fostered through participating. An important part of our conversation is the need for improved representation and equity in the hospitality industry (and, of course, society at-large.)
Our guests share inspiring stories and thoughts related to their journeys, their motivations for getting involved in Turning Tables, and how they are building their own table, not just seeking a seat at existing ones. We talk about how the program has evolved from the first iteration, as well.
During most of our featured interview, we rotate guests in and out of the chat. But everyone sticks around for our podcast-only segment, “Another Shot with NOLADrinks,” where we continue the conversation with the whole group!
Our guests include Touré Folkes, Deniseea Taylor, Geoffrey Wilson, Tim Stevens, Roxy Eve Narvaez, Jeri Guilford, and Alana Peck. Thanks to them for the time, insight, and inspiration!
This show is part of our ongoing “Sustainability Series.”
You can subscribe to, stream, and download The NOLADrinks Show with Bryan Dias podcast using the links and player at the top of the post! Thanks to the Southern Food and Beverage Museum for hosting us!
Cheers and Be Well, You All!
~ Bryan
