Black History Distinguishes Catering

Two bits of history are tucked inside Liberian American Jessica Zeon’s enterprise, Distinguish Catering. One is that Black Americans were the first to create a business out of catering and event-planning (late 18th and early 19th centuries, in Philadelphia). The second is that after slavery was abolished, some of the first freed African American slaves migrated back to Africa to create a better future, establishing Liberia on January 7, 1822. Zeon herself was inspired by her immigrant father’s cooking and earned a degree from Johnson & Wales in 2015 “in order to build this legacy in my father’s name.” Distinguish Catering got off the ground in October 2017, as Zeon prepared food for takeout or delivery. She brought together Liberian cooking techniques and ingredients with American “soul food,” calling it “Afro-infused soul food.” Popular dishes are plantains stuffed with beef and rice (set off with her “Ultimate Smoked Pepper Sauce”); and mac ‘n’ cheese sprinkled with cornbread made from her mother’s secret recipe. Regular accounts, such as the Providence College women’s basketball team, and a high-end customer like Patriots’ offensive tackle Isaiah Wynn, have allowed Zeon to go full-time with Distinguish Catering and to market two of her sauces to the wider public.

Visit DistinguishCatering.com. On social @distinguish_catering