‘An affirming thing’: Greensboro’s disCOURSE dining series brings female chefs and women together

Featured photo: In April, the disCOURSE series brought Eunice Chang of the Spicy Hermit to Potent Potables for a kimchi tasting. (photo by Nancy Sidelinger Herring)

When Tina Firesheets first heard Chef Adé Carrena tell her story, she felt incredibly moved.

“It was a story of adoption,” says Firesheets, who is also adopted. 

But that’s where the similarities ended. Carrena — who won 2023 North Carolina Chef of the Year by the state Restaurant and Lodging Association and owns Dounou Cuisine in Raleigh — was adopted from Bénin, a country in West Africa, with her sister when she was just 10 years old. Taken in by a family in the Northeast, her family in Bénin thought that she and her sibling would have a better life in America. 

They didn’t. 

“She really didn’t understand what was going on,” Firesheets says of Carenna. “It was never communicated clearly to her; she didn’t know if she would see her birth family again.”

Once she and her sister arrived at their new home, they were abused in more ways than one. Carrena and her sibling were forced to cook dinner for the family every day without instruction or guidance, which often led to punishment.

“She never wanted to cook,” Firesheets says. “She hated cooking.”

Later in life, Carrena got a job as a cook and had her first non-traumatic experience with food. She realized that it could be enjoyable; it became healing.

“I wanted to bring her to Greensboro,” Firesheets says. “I wanted her to be a part of an event for women so others could hear her story and be moved by it too.”

That was in January when Firesheets and her co-conspirator Ling Sue Withers hosted their first disCOURSE dining event, where they brought Carrena in from Raleigh to tell her story. The curated event, which was hosted at Machete, included a five-course meal with paired beverages, a documentary screening of Bite of Bénin, a film about Carrena’s life, and an African handwashing ceremony. Tickets cost $150, but Firesheets hoped that everything they were offering would make the price worth it. And it did. Three months later, they hosted their second event with Eunice Chang of the Spicy Hermit and a kimchi tasting at Potent Potables. This time, the ticket prices were lower and after the event, women could opt into a kimchi-making class.

“Each one is so different,” Firesheets says. 

The goal of the disCOURSE events, she says, is to bring women together through food.

As a creative writer for Pace Communications, the co-founder of PAVE NC and the past editor of 1808 Magazine, Firesheets is known in the community for storytelling and community-building. But one of her main passions is whetting her appetite.

“I get really excited if it’s about food,” Firesheets says.

Part of the fun, she says, is being able to bring in female chefs and cooks from outside of Greensboro.

“We’re very reluctant in Greensboro and Winston-Salem to cross county lines to experience things,” Firesheets says. 

But disCOURSE organizers bring chefs here. In November, the series will end out the year with an event featuring Chef Jordan Rainbolt of Native Root in Winston-Salem. For months, Firesheets says, she’s been stalking Rainbolt on social media, watching her post about her farm dinners and pop-up events. But with a full-time job and a family, she hasn’t been able to attend an event yet.

“This also selfishly fulfills a desire for me,” Firesheets laughs.

The next event that disCOURSE is planning takes place this Saturday with Shafna Shamsuddin of Elaka Treats. Featuring ice creams infused with the ingredients of Shamsuddin’s Indian heritage, the event will also have samples of dishes that inspired each frozen treat. While this next event is mostly sold out, Firesheets encourages those who are interested in attending future events to sign up for their newsletter, where attendees get first dibs on tickets. 

It’s a way for women to connect and experience camaraderie, she says.

“As I’ve gotten older, I love seeing women getting together,” she says. “It’s such an affirming thing. There’s something powerful in that; I always come away feeling energized.”

Moving forward, Firesheets says that they’ll have more events next year and each one will be different from the last. 

“It’s more than experiencing food,” she says. “It’s about the experience of the people you’re with, the vibe, the energy of the culinary team. It’s all these things that make it a memorable experience. That’s what we’re aiming to do.”

Learn more about disCOURSE on Instagram at @discoursedining. Sign up for their newsletter by emailing  [email protected].