Mama Tartt Receives 2025 Appalachian Foodways Practitioner Fellowship

By: Crystal Good

Celebrating the vibrant, soulful spirit of Appalachian cooking, Ronnie Marie “Mama” Tartt has been named the 2025 Appalachian Foodways Practitioner Fellowship winner—a prestigious honor that spotlights her lifelong dedication to preserving and reimagining our region’s culinary traditions.

Described in Black By God – The West Virginian as “her ancestors’ wildest dream,” Mama Tartt’s work enriches her McDowell County community and elevates the visibility of Black country cooks across Appalachia, whose culinary heritage has long been underrecognized. Her Berwind kitchen, once the heart of the bustling Black community of Hartwell, stands as a sanctuary of creativity and ancestral wisdom where every meal pays homage to generations past.

Drawing inspiration from her Grandma Penny of Uniontown, Alabama, and the enduring guidance of her mother, Mrs. Alberta, Mama Tartt has mastered the arts of canning, drying, growing, and cooking. Her legacy is measured not only by the delicious flavors she creates but also by the lives she touches—proudly mentoring her daughters, granddaughters, and countless “adopted daughters.” Notably, her daughter Tamika told BBG that while she can cook nearly everything Mama can, she’ll always leave the famous German chocolate cake to her.

Mama Tartt’s remarkable achievement is part of a broader renaissance that is finally giving Black Appalachian country cooks the recognition they deserve—a movement echoed in works like Crystal Wilkinson’s Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts. Her award celebrates not just a single culinary journey but a family and community legacy of resilience, ingenuity, and cultural expression.

Alongside Mama Tartt, the 2025 Appalachian Foodways Practitioner Fellowship also honors outstanding stewards of Appalachian heritage, including Sam Cole of The New Opportunity School for Women (Berea, KY), Chris Smith from Leicester, NC—a seed saver and permaculturist—and Marcus West of Franklin, NC—a dedicated farmer, butcher, and keeper of his family’s legacy.

The fellowships are supported by Mid Atlantic Arts’ Central Appalachia Living Traditions program, in partnership with Grow Appalachia, Mid Atlantic Arts, and the Appalachian Studies Association.