Bakers Against Racism With Co-Founder Paola Velez

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4.6 • 592 Ratings

🗓️ 19 June 2020

⏱️ 55 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The restaurant industry almost broke Pastry Chef Paola Velez during the early days of her career, but her passion, drive, and sense of self worth have won out time and time again. Over the past two weeks, Paola, on furlough from her job at Kith/Kin in Washington, D.C., has channeled her energy and optimism into a project called Bakers Against Racism. This humble bake sale, founded by Paola, Pastry Chef Willa Pelini, and Chef Rob Rubba, was meant to give professional and home bakers a way to join the fight for Black lives, but it has exploded into a global phenomenon, with chapters around the world and sales underway on five continents, 17 countries, and more than 41 states. Tune in to hear about Paola’s life and career, and how both have turned her into a passionate activist who uses baked goods as a vehicle for protest. Stay tuned to hear why Auria Abraham, founder of Auria’s Malaysian Kitchen, thinks chef Airis Johnson is the Bombe.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, boys and girls are all fired up.
0:07.0	The number one female focused food podcast in the universe.
0:24.8	I'm your host, Carrie Diamond, coming to you from Brooklyn, New York.
0:28.7	Today is Juneteenth, a holiday that marks the end of slavery in America, which is why it's been referred to as the true Independence Day.
0:37.0	I hope all of you are able to honor the day in your own way and reflect on what it represents.
0:42.3	I'm so glad you're tuning in because today's episode is incredibly special.
0:46.2	I know I say that every week, but this week really is.
0:48.6	It's with Paola Valese, a pastry chef based in Washington, D.C.,
0:52.4	and the co-founder of Bakers Against Racism.
0:55.9	The initiative started as a simple call to unite bakers in the fight against the unjust
1:00.0	treatment of black people in the United States. Paola and her co-founders were hoping
1:04.6	80 or so people would join in their bake sale. Instead, they sparked a global movement.
1:09.8	Bakers Against Racism has ignited solidarity on five continents, in 17 countries, and in 41 states.
1:17.4	Until coronavirus devastated the restaurant industry, Paola was the pastry chef at the critically
1:22.2	acclaimed Afro-Caribbean restaurant, Kith and Kin.
1:25.9	She is creative, charismatic, honest, and a force to be reckoned with.
1:30.3	The industry is lucky to have Paola in it. I'm honored to bring you this conversation.
1:35.9	So Paola, we're going to start at the beginning. Tell me where you spent your childhood.
1:40.6	So I grew up in the Bronx in New York City, and every summer for three, four months, depending on
1:48.4	how my mom felt I would go to the Dominican Republic and live there. She thought it was really
1:54.4	important to make sure that I split my difference so that I knew my heritage, but also, you know,
2:00.7	experience the American way of life.
	...

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