The mission? To feed Oakland’s people. The method? For Oakland’s black-owned Round Midnight Dinner, that’s where things get interesting.
Whether it be through creating vibey instructional cooking content or launching mutual aid programs, Round Midnight Dinner founder Ayesha Abdullah’s (she/her) biggest goal is to uplift and support Oakland’s black community through food-focused education and justice – all through the lens of a black chef.
“My brand is about bringing the community together – specifically the Black community, through food,” said Ayesha. “Me being Black and looking the way that I do, I want to introduce the community to different types of food and show that things we’re less familiar with may not be as intimidating as they seem. We can move through different doors if we want to.”
There’s no question that Ayesha can throw down in the kitchen, but what first caught our attention was how that skill is showcased on Round Midnight’s Instagram. Her video content is vibrant. It’s relatable and educational. But most of all, it’s real.
Fueled by changes brought on by COVID-19 restrictions, what started as a digital means to connect with community and promote her upcoming pop up dining experience has grown into much more.
“When Covid-19 hit, I decided to take Round Midnight online,” says Ayesha. “But I couldn’t just share a recipe. I wanted to show the entire process of it all and share historical context.”
We’ve watched Ayesha go on Instagram Live and break down an entire duck on camera, followed her step-by-step as she made wine braised roast with polenta, and lit up as she showed how to whip up lemon bars from literal scratch – and that’s just in the past week.
Creating relatable content with black chefs in mind is just one part of Round Midnight’s overall vision. Ayesha is also getting ready to launch her first aid programs for the community.
“Community and service is a really big thing for me,” says Ayesha. “It’s really cool to be able to help home cooks and young cooks, but being able to feed folks who can’t feed themselves is what I’m really here for.”
Ayesha wants to start at the beginning with kids and youth, then plans to further expand to help Oakland’s unhoused communities. “I’m really wanting to launch a free breakfast program for Oakland’s elementary schools, inspired by the Black Panthers’ activism.”
Her pre-COVID-19 plans to create an atmospheric pop up dining experience are being set in motion again as well, with a tentative West Oakland location and event date of June 19th, 2021.
The pop up will serve as the first installment of a bigger vision to create an affirming dining experience centered around the Black community, highlighting Black art, Black music and more.
“I noticed over the past couple of years that whenever I’d go out to eat in these new spaces, I’d get this really amazing food, but I didn’t feel completely comfortable in the atmosphere I was in,” said Ayesha. “There are little nuances in a place that have the potential to make us go, ‘Oh… do I belong here?
I want to create a space where Black people can come in, be themselves, drink wine or whatever, eat burrata,” said Ayesha. “Where people who look like me can feel comfortable.”
But for Ayesha, there’s an intentional order of business that she is called to follow.
“I honestly cannot do any of that without first feeding the community,” said Ayesha. “COVID-19 has brought a lot of things to the surface as far as the disparities in our community that have already existed, and all of that needs to be tackled first.”
Ayesha offers additional service offerings upon request, including private classes and more.
Follow Ayesha’s journey Round Midnight Dinner’s Instagram. Visit their website for more information.
