'Something very unique': Halifax kiosk serves up African Nova Scotian heritage, culture

Freedom Culinary Culture offers classic comfort dishes and a selection of goods by local African Nova Scotian artists.

Freedom Culinary Culture, located on the waterfront, features local art and cuisine

Olivia Piercey · CBC News · Posted: Jul 08, 2025 1:47 PM EDT | Last Updated: July 8

Three people stand in the doorway of a wooden kiosk. A large sign above the structure reads "culinary culture freedom, proudly African Nova Scotian." — Dean Lucas, founder, left; Renee Parsons, manager, centre; and Darius Fader, employee, right, stand in the doorway of Freedom Culinary Culture. The food kiosk and shop opened on the Halifax waterfront in early July. (Portia Clark/CBC)

A new shop and food kiosk celebrating African Nova Scotian heritage and culture opened last week on the Halifax waterfront.

Freedom Culinary Culture offers classic comfort dishes and a selection of goods by local African Nova Scotian artists.

"I think that we have something very unique here that we don't have anywhere else," said Dean Lucas, founder of Freedom Culinary Culture. "With our communities, we have so many stories."

He said the kiosk aims to make African Nova Scotian culture accessible to tourists.

Lucas said he noticed a lot of Black tourists on the boardwalk last summer. While speaking to them, he realized they knew very little about the history of African Nova Scotians.

"There was nothing provided by the cruise ships to let them know," he said. "I thought, how can we ... let them know that we exist and that we're here?"

A woman arranges a stack of t-shirts on a display table. The t-shirts have a map of Nova Scotia with the word "freedom" underneath in capital letters. — The shop features local art and goods by African Nova Scotian makers along with its own branded merchandise. (Portia Clark/CBC)

Books by local authors, quilts and jewelry line the kiosks' shelves. The menu is made up of local classics like blueberry grunt, fried pepperoni and maple molasses cornbread. Lucas said the menu was inspired by his father and grandmothers' cooking.

"Just the things that I enjoyed eating and other people told me they liked," he said. "This is good food that we shared with Nova Scotians and Maritimers, but it's also part of our culture too."

Lucas grew up in Lucasville, a prominent African Nova Scotian community established by Black settlers who had fled slavery in the United States after the War of 1812. He said his family has been there since its beginning.

"So lots of friends, lots of memory. And I think where I'm at now, I need to get back. And I think this is my way."

One of the chefs, Darius Fader, said he has learned to make cornbread and blueberry grunt during his time at Freedom. At 15, he's one of several young people employed at the kiosk for the season.

"I feel like it's a good opportunity to explore my own culture more and just expand on my knowledge in terms of what I know about my history," said Fader, who has family ties to Africville and North Preston.

Lucas said he hopes working at Freedom will encourage young employees to be proud of their heritage and help preserve African Nova Scotian culture.

"My idea was to get them in here so they can represent their communities, talk about their heritage, as well as get them to learn and get involved with our history," said Lucas.

Lucas said he thinks a focus on African Nova Scotian culture could be an opportunity for growth in tourism, and he hopes to see more businesses like his in the future.

"We could probably turn this into one of the biggest Black travel destinations within the world once we get things going and build economies within our communities."

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of.