RICHMOND, Va. — Food writer, podcaster and filmmaker Debra Freeman is helping bring the story of acclaimed chef Edna Lewis to new audiences through the documentary “Finding Edna Lewis,” a film exploring the life and legacy of one of Virginia’s most influential yet often overlooked culinary figures.
The documentary, which was recently screened at Richmond’s Byrd Theatre and aired on PBS, follows Freeman as she travels through the places that shaped Lewis’ life and culinary career. Along the way, she interviews chefs, historians and family members influenced by Lewis’ work and legacy surrounding Southern cuisine and seasonal cooking.
Freeman said her introduction to Lewis began nearly a decade ago while researching Black foodways in Virginia.
“I literally did a Google search of Black chefs in Virginia and her name came up,” Freeman said. “I saw she had some cookbooks, and I went to Barnes and Noble and picked up ‘The Taste of Country Cooking.’ I was blown away by the descriptions and really being able to feel a sense of place and get an idea of who this woman was.”
Lewis, who was born in Freetown, Virginia, became nationally recognized for championing seasonal and southern cooking decades before the concepts became mainstream. Despite earning widespread acclaim throughout her career, Freeman said Lewis never became a household name.
“I really think she’s an unsung hero in the culinary field,” Freeman said. “Not just Black food, not just Southern food, but really in American food. She’s really a giant, and folks just don’t talk about her enough.”
Freeman spent years publicly asking why there had never been a full-length documentary dedicated to Lewis before filmmakers Lance Warren and Hannah Ayers approached her about the project.
“For like eight years I had been saying, ‘Where’s Edna Lewis’ documentary?’” Freeman said. “They happened to hear one of the podcasts that I was on, and they reached out to me, so it really was just kind of a perfect fit.”
While Freeman is best known for her writing and her award-winning podcast “Setting the Table,” much of her work centers on the relationship between food, culture and history. Freeman said food serves as a universal connection point that allows people from various groups to feel united over common ground and express shared experiences and memories.
“I think because it’s an entry point for everyone,” Freeman said. “All of us have some relationship with food in some way, and all of us have memories associated with food.”
In addition, she utilizes topics regarding food history to promote larger conversations about the intersection of race, class and culture in a more approachable way. Freeman said food often encourages audiences to engage with stories and histories they may not have otherwise explored.
“Food kind of becomes the entryway to talk about these things,” Freeman said. “Once they start to read and listen and delve into it more, they just kind of go, ‘Oh, I hadn’t thought about that,’ or ‘I never learned about that.’”
Freeman said one of the documentary’s primary goals was to celebrate Lewis’ accomplishments and lasting influence while avoiding an overemphasis on her racial discrimination. Although the film acknowledges the racial and historical barriers Lewis faced throughout her life and career, Freeman said she was intentional about ensuring those hardships did not define Lewis’ story or overshadow her legacy.
“I didn’t want that to be the focus of the film,” Freeman said. “You can say there were hardships, but not linger on them. It was really important to note how accomplished she became and how beloved she was and is. That was the bigger story for me.”
Beyond Lewis’ story itself, Freeman said the documentary acts as a public display of the growing art scene of Richmond’s filmmaking and the storytelling community. While “Finding Edna Lewis” explores a nationally significant story rooted in Virginia history, Freeman said the project showcases the talent emerging out of Richmond.
“I think that it speaks to the talent that’s in Richmond,” Freeman said. "I think that what it says is that there's talent here, and there are folks who want to tell stories at the highest level possible.”
Freeman praised filmmakers Warren and Ayers, calling them “extraordinary filmmakers” who helped bring Lewis’ story to life visually. She also pointed to the involvement of VPM and other Richmond-based collaborators as evidence of the city’s growing influence in media production.
Since its initial release in 2025, the documentary has gone on to earn an Emmy recognition and a James Beard Award nomination while also reaching international audiences through a screening in London.
“I think that it’s a very strong indicator that there are voices coming out of the Richmond area that are impacting people nationally and internationally,” Freeman said.
Freeman said the film also reflects a broader effort to elevate Virginia’s role in shaping American food culture, something she believes is often overlooked in conversations surrounding Southern cuisine.
“Virginia foodways get left out of the conversation in American food a lot of times,” Freeman said. “People think about Southern food as probably any other state except Virginia, and we have a lot of things that begin here in Virginia. There are all of these quintessential Southern dishes that are celebrated really all over the world,” Freeman said. “A lot of that really does come from Virginia.”
“Finding Edna Lewis” is currently available to stream on VPM’s website, as they continue the film’s effort to introduce new audiences to Lewis’ lasting influence on American cuisine and Virginia food history.
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