{{Short description|American Gullah Geechee Chef}} {{Infobox person/Wikidata|fetchwikidata=ALL|dateformat=dmy}} '''Benjamin "BJ" Dennis IV''' is an American Gullah Geechee chef and caterer from Charleston, South Carolina who is known for preserving Gullah Geechee cooking and culture.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Severson |first=Kim |date=2018-02-13 |title=Finding a Lost Strain of Rice, and Clues to Slave Cooking |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/13/dining/hill-rice-slave-history.html |access-date=2023-05-31 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Perkins |first=Erin |date=2021-08-13 |title=Gullah Geechee Chef BJ Dennis Returns to Charleston |url=https://carolinas.eater.com/2021/8/13/22620639/gullah-geechee-chef-bj-dennis |access-date=2023-05-31 |website=Eater Carolinas |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Griner |first=Allison |title=The Gullah Geechee's fight against 'cultural genocide' |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2015/9/4/the-gullah-geechees-fight-against-cultural-genocide |access-date=2023-05-31 |website=www.aljazeera.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Taylor |first=Nicole |date=2016-09-22 |title=These Chefs and Farmers are Preserving Gullah Food Culture |url=https://civileats.com/2016/09/22/these-chefs-and-farmers-are-preserving-gullah-food-culture/ |access-date=2023-05-31 |website=Civil Eats |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Michelle |first=Trelani |date=February 2022 |title=Chef Benjamin Dennis continues his journey in understanding, preserving, and uplifting Gullah culture through food {{!}} Charleston Magazine |url=https://charlestonmag.com/features/chef_benjamin_dennis_continues_his_journey_in_understanding_preserving_and_uplifting_gullah |access-date=2023-05-31 |website=CHARLESTON SC {{!}} |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Amir Touré, BJ Dennis, and Sallie Ann Robinson: The Torchbearers |url=https://gardenandgun.com/feature/amir-toure-bj-dennis-sallie-ann-robinson/ |access-date=2023-05-31 |website=Garden & Gun |language=en-US}}</ref> Additionally, he is also notable for his discovery of hill rice in December 2016 in Trinidad, which was thought to have been extinct.<ref name=":0" />

== Biography == Dennis was born in West Ashley, South Carolina.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=BJ Dennis |url=https://charlestonwineandfood.com/participants/bj-dennis/ |access-date=2023-05-31 |website=Charleston Wine + Food |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":3" /><ref name=":5">{{Cite web |date=2015-09-15 |title=BJ Dennis {{!}} Southern Foodways Alliance - Southern Foodways Alliance |url=https://www.southernfoodways.org/interview/bj-dennis/ |access-date=2023-05-31 |language=en-US}}</ref> Dennis has two siblings.<ref name=":2" /> Dennis started to learn about cooking from watching and helping his mother and grandparents.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":6">{{Cite web |title=BJ Dennis {{!}} studysc |url=https://www.studysc.org/sc-people/bj-dennis |access-date=2023-05-31 |website=www.studysc.org}}</ref> He studied at the College of Charleston for one year.<ref name=":2" /> He then transferred to Trident Technical College and got a job at Hyman's Seafood.<ref name=":2" /> It was at Trident that Dennis changed his major to culinary arts.<ref name=":2" /> He later worked as a cook for 82 Queen, Anson's, and Hank's Seafood.<ref name=":2" /> In 2004, Dennis traveled to Saint Thomas to work as a cook.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":6" /> In 2011, he became the opening chef at the Cocktail Club.<ref name=":2" /> Dennis started a pop-up café in 2012 called "Butcher & Bee" in Charleston, South Carolina.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-08-14 |title=People Say Gullah Geechee Culture Is Disappearing. BJ Dennis Says They're Wrong |url=https://www.bonappetit.com/story/bj-dennis-gullah-geechee |access-date=2023-05-31 |website=Bon Appétit |language=en-US}}</ref>

On March 6, 2015, the Southern Foodways Alliance recorded Dennis' oral history focusing on his Gullah Geechee cooking and culture.<ref name=":5" /> In December 2016, he made the discovery of hill rice growing in Trinidad, which was once thought to be extinct.<ref name=":0" />

In 2020, Dennis, Michael Twitty and others were featured in the 4th episode of Padma Lakshmi's show ''Taste the Nation with Padma Lashmi,'' which focused on Gullah cuisine.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Milner |first=Parker |date=2020-06-16 |title=Padma Lakshmi explores Gullah Geechee cuisine in her new show Taste the Nation, debuting this week |url=http://charlestoncitypaper.com/2020/06/16/padma-lakshmi-explores-gullah-geechee-cuisine-in-her-new-show-taste-the-nation-debuting-this-week/ |access-date=2023-05-31 |website=Charleston City Paper |language=en-US}}</ref>

In 2021, Dennis was featured on Netflix's series ''High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America.''<ref name=":2" /> One of Dennis' recipes was featured in Bryant Terry's ''Black Food: Stories, Art, and Recipes from Across the African Diaspora [A Cookbook],'' which was also released in 2021''.''<ref>{{Cite book |title=Black Food: Stories, Art, and Recipes from Across the African Diaspora [A Cookbook] |date=19 October 2021 |publisher=Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed |isbn=978-1984859723 |editor-last=Terry |editor-first=Bryant |language=english}}</ref> That same year, Dennis temporarily moved to Bluffton to start his position as culinary director at the Lowcountry Fresh Market and Cafe.<ref name=":1" /> In 2022, he moved back to Charleston.<ref name=":1" />

In an article published by ''The New York Times'' on May 9, 2022, Dennis is said to have encouraged Emily Meggett to write the "first high-profile book on Gullah Geechee cooking," which resulted in her publishing ''Gullah Geechee Home Cooking: Recipes from the Matriarch of Edisto Island.''<ref>{{Cite news |last=Severson |first=Kim |date=2022-05-09 |title=A Cook Who Never Used a Cookbook Now Has Her Own |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/09/dining/gullah-geechee-cookbook-emily-meggett.html |access-date=2023-05-31 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

Dennis has also participated in Charleston Wine + Food event from 2020 to 2023.<ref name=":4" /> The [https://charlestonwineandfood.com/ Charleston Wine + Food] is a local 501(c )(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting Charleston's culinary scene.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Our Story |url=https://charlestonwineandfood.com/about/ |access-date=2023-05-31 |website=Charleston Wine + Food |language=en-US}}</ref> Dennis' 2022 Charleston Wine + Food event sold out within minutes.<ref name=":2" />

== Career == While attending Trident, Dennis began working as a dishwasher at Hyman’s Seafood in Charleston; the experience convinced him to change his major to culinary arts. Over the next several years, he worked at a variety of different restaurants in Charleston, Savannah, St. Thomas, and West Africa.<ref name=":02">{{Cite web |date=2022-01-13 |title=Chef Benjamin Dennis continues his journey in understanding, preserving, and uplifting Gullah culture through food |url=https://charlestonmag.com/features/chef_benjamin_dennis_continues_his_journey_in_understanding_preserving_and_uplifting_gullah |access-date=2023-04-29 |website=Charleston Magazine}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Palate |first=Local |date=2022-09-21 |title=BJ Dennis: The Gullah Griot |url=https://thelocalpalate.com/articles/bj-dennis-gullah/ |access-date=2023-10-01 |website=The Local Palate |language=en-US}}</ref> Upon returning to the United States, he began hosting Gullah-Geechee pop-ups.<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":12">{{Cite web |last=Cadigan |first=Hilary |date=2019-08-14 |title=People Say Gullah Geechee Culture Is Disappearing. BJ Dennis Says They're Wrong |url=https://www.bonappetit.com/story/bj-dennis-gullah-geechee |access-date=2023-10-01 |website=Bon Appétit |language=en-US}}</ref>

In 2021, Dennis moved to Bluffton to serve as the culinary director at Lowcountry Fresh Market and Cafe,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Perkins |first=Erin |date=2021-08-13 |title=Gullah Geechee Chef BJ Dennis Returns to Charleston |url=https://carolinas.eater.com/2021/8/13/22620639/gullah-geechee-chef-bj-dennis |access-date=2023-10-01 |website=Eater Carolinas |language=en}}</ref> then returned to Charleston to lead the food program at the International African American Museum.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pardue |first=Doug |date=2021-08-11 |title=Chef BJ Dennis creating menu for International African American Museum's cafe |url=https://www.postandcourier.com/food/chef-bj-dennis-creating-menu-for-international-african-american-museums-cafe/article_af6f46aa-f143-11eb-b82e-bb641cd81bbd.html |access-date=2023-10-01 |website=Post and Courier |language=en}}</ref>

During the Covid-19 pandemic, Dennis reviewed the manuscript of Emily Meggett's book on Gullah cuisine, at the request of Meggett's son. Soon after, a literary agent asked Dennis if he would be interested in writing a book; he said that the first book on Gullah cuisine should be Meggett's.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Morales |first=Christina |date=2023-04-26 |title=Emily Meggett, Matriarch of Gullah Geechee Cuisine, Is Dead at 90 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/26/dining/emily-meggett-dead.html |access-date=2023-10-01 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> That book, ''Gullah Geechee Home Cooking'', was published by Abrams Books in 2022.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Meggett |first=Emily |url=https://www.abramsbooks.com/product/gullah-geechee-home-cooking_9781419758782/ |title=Gullah Geechee Home Cooking: Recipes from the Matriarch of Edisto Island |date=2022 |publisher=Abrams |isbn=978-1-4197-5878-2 |language=en}}</ref> In 2022, Dennis and Nicole A. Taylor were collaborating on a book to be released through Penguin Random House.<ref name=":02" />

Dennis has also participated in the Charleston Wine + Food Festival.<ref>{{Cite web |title=BJ Dennis |url=https://charlestonwineandfood.com/participants/bj-dennis/ |access-date=2023-10-01 |website=Charleston Wine + Food |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Filmography ==

* ''Top Chef'' (2016–17)<ref name=":22">{{Cite web |title=B.J. Dennis |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9669146/ |access-date=2023-10-01 |website=IMDb |language=en-US}}</ref> * ''Parts Unknown'': Charleston (2018)<ref name=":12" /> * ''The Great Soul Food Cook-Off'' (2021)<ref name=":22" /> * ''High on the Hog'' (2021)<ref name=":02" /> * ''The Underground Railroad'' (2021)<ref name=":02" /> * ''Today'' (2022)

== References == {{Reflist}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dennis, Benjamin, IV}} Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Gullah Category:Chefs from South Carolina Category:People from Charleston, South Carolina Category:21st-century African-American people Category:Living people Category:College of Charleston alumni