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‘Top Chef’ finalist Nick Wallace shares the bounty

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‘Top Chef’ finalist Nick Wallace shares the bounty

Chef Nick Wallace, at the Corner Market in Fondren, Friday, July 1, 2022.

Mississippi celebrity chef Nick Wallace has become a literal household name thanks to his appearances on Food Network cooking shows “Chopped” and “Fire Masters,” both of which he won, and most recently as a finalist this spring on Bravo’s “Top Chef.”

But today, he’s sitting in his car outside a nondescript, 15,000-square- brick building in Midtown Jackson, reminiscing on the journey that led to his success — and specifically here, to the corner of Keener and Wightman streets, where he is building his next

Wallace flips the camera on his phone away from selfie mode to reveal the facade of his business headquarters, Nick Wallace Culinary, then stands to walk around the weathered asphalt lot. 

“We’re going to have a farm that’s going to be here outside of the building,” Wallace says, motioning around the . “We’re going to do farmer’s markets. It’s going to be little bays right here during the farmer’s market, twice a week.”

Wallace’s vision for the Midtown Culinary Center, his collaboration with Midtown Partners, Hope Credit Union and Millsaps College’s ELSEWORKS Entrepreneurial Program, is to showcase Mississippi cuisine while providing the local community with access to quality foods and workforce

For Wallace, it’s also an opportunity to begin correcting outsiders’ impressions of Mississippi cuisine, and particularly African-American cooking. Through his television experiences, he’s heard people say, “We can only fry chicken and make sauce and fry catfish and braise greens and cornbread,” Wallace laments. “Yeah, I can do all that, but I can do a whole lot of other things, too. That right there is a fuel element.”

Before farm-to-table was a trend, it was simply how Wallace and his family lived in Edwards, Mississippi, in a home built in the center of a seven-acre farm. The family business was pulpwood, but for Wallace, the real business happened right there on the homestead.

“As soon as you walked out, you might be stepping on sweet potatoes,” he remembers. “To the left was the chicken coop. Over the fence were the cows. We had a lot of wild mushrooms on the property, wild berries, figs — everything that you wanted.”

For young Wallace, the farm was practically his entire world. With older family members away most days, tending the crops often fell to him. He gathered greens from the gardens and collected eggs from the chicken coop. He helped his grandmother with pickling cucumbers and peppers and canning jams and jellies. He ate her sweet potato butter on biscuits in the morning and observed how she used everything they grew and raised. 

“My grandmother really practiced slow food. Everything about what she did took time,” he says. “She always had those big Dutch oven cast-iron pots and was always braising meats. She did a lot of braising vegetables, too. We used everything on the cow, everything on the pig. Every vegetation that we grew, I definitely ate it.”

In time, Wallace’s world both grew and shrank. When his mother moved him and his sister to Jackson when he was nine years old, the yard was no longer big enough to get lost in, leaving him feeling trapped in his new city. He would go back to the farm in Edwards on weekends but soon began picking up cleaning and inventory at local pool halls and corner stores back in Jackson to keep himself busy. 

When he was 15, he began taking on roofing jobs, and then found his first restaurant job at Fernando’s, a Mexican restaurant in Ridgeland, but never made it past the prep line. In quick succession, he was hired as a cook at Outback Steakhouse and then graduated to Schimmel’s, where he worked under Derek Emerson, whose metro-area restaurants now include Caet, Local 463 and Walker’s Drive-In. At that point, though, cooking was still a paycheck.

“I really didn’t take it seriously until I started listening to people and finding out all these popular chefs and reading their stories,” he says. “And looking around and seeing nobody that looked like me. And I wanted a little bit more, so I tested the waters.”

Wallace pursued and landed the kitchen gig at the Jackson Marriott when he was 20 years old, and within two years was named executive chef.

“Marriott taught me how to show up on time, how to dress, how to do some public speaking, the financial reports, all that,” he says. “I realized at that point that if I wanted to really take my craft to the next level financially, my brand, everything else, I really had to write my story.”

As executive chef at the Hilton Garden Inn in the King Edward building, he began to do just that. He planted a garden at the valet station, then added raised beds behind the hotel where he grew tomatoes and herbs. He created a chef’s table where Hilton executives and VIPs could experience Wallace’s five- and six-course meals. After six years there, and with the lessons he learned from his grandmother swimming in his head, he landed his first TV appearance in 2013. For “Top Chef,” his eighth TV show, the producers came to him. 

“Honestly, I didn’t do a whole lot of research about ‘Top Chef’ before I went on because I work every day,” he says. “I worked the same day I flew out. I just got on the show and tried to figure things out.”

By then, Wallace was a year into running his first signature spot, the Nissan Café By Nick Wallace at the Two Mississippi Museums in Jackson, where he puts his experience to work in popular dishes like a Southern- ramen noodle bowl, a smoked brisket wrap and white chocolate bread pudding. He still uses the Dutch oven his grandmother used to braise meats and vegetables when he was a kid.

While his passion remains strong for the café, his latest round on reality TV kept him — and Mississippi, as he interjected at every opportunity — visible to a national audience for three months. More doors began opening, like a new partnership with Ben’s Original Rice (formerly Uncle Ben’s) and Dole Foods’ Sunshine For All initiative. He balances the workload with community projects like the Midtown Culinary Center, quoting his grandmother: “As much as you get in , you give back just as much.”

“I appreciate the fame and all, but that’s not really what I want,” he says. “I’m working on my nonprofit culinary center in Midtown Jackson. I want to see that through because that’s going to be around for many, many years to come. I want to try to get involved with other things that identify the sophistication of food for Mississippi. And so I don’t think the work is done.”

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Mississippi News

National Women’s March held in Tupelo brings locals together

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www.wcbi.com – Kaleb Green – 2024-11-02 22:19:00

SUMMARY: The Women’s March in , Mississippi, joined national marches advocating for women’s rights, coinciding with in Washington D.C. and other . Organized by Indivisible Northeast Mississippi, the march influential speakers who emphasized the importance of personal autonomy and women’s involvement in societal issues. Participants expressed gratitude for the ‘s significance in a small town, with speakers urging women to fight for their rights and control their own bodies. The message for young women included themes of independence and empowerment, encouraging them to pursue their goals bravely. The Tupelo march was part of a larger movement encompassing similar events in and Hattiesburg.

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Mississippi News

‘Get Out to Vote’ rally encourages citizens to cast their ballots

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www.wcbi.com – Khamari Haymer – 2024-11-02 20:01:00

SUMMARY: Elected in Columbus, Mississippi, are promoting voter participation ahead of election day through a “Get Out to Vote” rally hosted by Representative Kabir Karriem and District Supervisor Leroy Brooks. The provided food and drinks while emphasizing the significance of exercising rights. Karriem stressed the importance of voting, stating every citizen should participate. Brooks, reflecting on the historical struggles for voting rights, underscored that voting should be a natural part of civic engagement. The rally took place in front of the Lowndes County Courthouse, encouraging community members to take action.

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Mississippi News

Millport hosts annual Stallion Street Fair

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www.wcbi.com – Khamari Haymer – 2024-11-02 19:41:00

SUMMARY: The Stallion Street Fair in Millport attracted hundreds, featuring food, vendors, , and ‘s activities. Attendee Mark Trull praised the for fostering community connections and supporting local businesses. Vendor Cynthia Woods emphasized its importance for raising brand awareness and networking. Meanwhile, Jason Patterson and Ashley Sudduth promoted a new weight loss clinic addressing obesity in Mississippi and Alabama. They plan to offer comprehensive services, diet management and recipes. Vendors are already gearing up for next year’s fair, marking it as a vital event for promoting local engagement and business opportunities.

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