Smothered Okra with Seafood

ABOUT THE DISH

As a child, Seventh Ward-native Jessica Dandridge was captivated by the sands of North Africa and the mysteries of Egypt. In the weeks leading up to her 16th birthday, the aspiring anthropologist was planning her Middle Eastern-themed celebration but, “all that disappeared in the blink of an eye.” Hurricane Katrina made landfall on her birthday, and, like so many others, Jessica’s family lost everything.

Now living in Algiers with her mother, Jessica reflects, “My life has been shaped by water in ways I didn’t even think it was. I was born here surrounded by water and every pivotal moment has involved water in some way.” And so Jessica traded the deserts of Africa for the swamps of her home city, where she now serves as the Executive Director of the Water Collaborative of Greater New Orleans.

The Collaborative focuses on equitable practices to sustainably live and thrive with water. As Jessica explains, “We need to do a better job of restoring and protecting our natural defenses and we need to recognize that it is Black, Indigenous and other communities of color that are most at risk when that environment is threatened or damaged.”

Jessica’s activism is rooted in her own experience. In the wake of Katrina, her mother encouraged her to turn her anger and frustration over the government’s inadequate response into action. That next spring, Jessica joined her first grassroots nonprofit. Her involvement with local organizations led to a startling discovery: “I knew racism existed, but didn’t know what it meant on a social scale rather than just an individual scale.”

Convinced that broader, systemic change was needed, Jessica moved to New York City to pursue a graduate degree in international security and conflict at The New School. She laughs that nearly every class on urbanization and smart cities used New Orleans as an example of post-disaster relief. The waters were calling her back to Louisiana, where her family has resided for generations.

“Cooking is a right of passage in my family,” Jessica explains, and was vital to her relationship with her grandfather, Cecil George Palmer. Originally from Jamaica, Cecil began cooking at a young age, eventually obtaining his culinary degree before moving to the United States where he met his future wife.

Jessica’s earliest memories are of running among the tables in the family’s restaurant, Palmer’s Cuisine, which opened on North Carrollton in 1988. Later, she was allowed to take orders at the family’s stand at Jazz Fest, French Quarter Fest, and Essence Fest, among others. Since losing her grandfather at the height of festival season in 2019, cooking has taken on a new meaning for Jessica, one that stands at the crossroads of grief and memory. As Cecil’s obituary reported, “He cooked until he was called home.”