Bailey, Mashama
1979- · Contribution: 2014-
Chef & Restaurateur
Executive chef and partner of The Grey, a celebrated Savannah restaurant built inside a formerly segregated Greyhound bus terminal; first African American chef to star in Netflix's 'Chef's Table'; two-time James Beard Award winner including the organization's top Outstanding Chef honor
Portraits are AI-generated interpretations, not photographs.
Quick facts
- Born
- 1979
- Active since
- 2014
- Category
- Agriculture & Food
- Best known for
- The Grey (Savannah)Two-time James Beard winnerNetflix Chef's Table
Impact on the world
Bailey transformed a monument to segregation into one of America's most celebrated restaurants, co-run by a Black woman and a white man. Her "Port City Southern" cooking reframed Southern cuisine as fine dining worthy of the industry's highest honors.
Sources
- Fine Dining Lovers
2 more sources and references are available to members.
Related visionaries
Lewis, Edna Regina
1916-2006
Helped define and popularize authentic Southern cuisine through cookbooks centering African American food traditions; pioneered farm-to-table cooking decades before the term existed
Randall, Joseph 'Joe' (Glascoe)
1946-2026
Founded the African American Chefs Hall of Fame in 1993 to recognize Black culinary professionals long overlooked by the industry; co-authored the foundational 1998 cookbook 'A Taste of Heritage,' inducted into the James Beard Foundation's Cookbook Hall of Fame in 2023
Smalls, Alexander
1952-
Won a Grammy and Tony Award as part of the cast recording of 'Porgy and Bess' before becoming a celebrated restaurateur of Southern and Lowcountry cuisine; co-authored 'Between Harlem and Heaven,' which won the James Beard Award for Best American Cookbook
Compton, Nina
1978-Present
Won the James Beard Foundation's Best Chef: South award in 2018 for Compère Lapin, her acclaimed New Orleans restaurant blending Caribbean, French, and Italian technique with Gulf Coast ingredients; daughter of Saint Lucia's three-time Prime Minister