Local chef and luminary, Charlotte Miller (aka Mama Blanche) was 11 or 12 when she baked her first cake, a blackberry poundcake. The entire family was out driving when her dad spotted huge, plump blackberries growing along the side of the road. As he began to pull over, her mother proclaimed that “her beautiful black children would not pick blackberries on the side of the road.” Besides there were ticks. So they went home. After her mom went to work, Charlotte’s dad told the kids to get their plastic jack-o-lantern buckets from Halloween and off they went back to pick those very same berries. They came home and emptied the buckets full of perfectly ripe, juicy fruit into their mother’s large white soup terrine, that sat in the middle of the dining room table. They were stunning.
Her mother eyed them when she came home but didn’t say a word— until she gave her youngest son a bath and found the ticks. It was the only time Charlotte ever heard her parents fight — her sweet father who loved food, arguing with the love of his life who kept him in line — but it was a loving fight that makes Charlotte smile at the memory.
It was then that Charlotte decided to make a blackberry poundcake. She pulled out the Joy of Cooking and called her mom at work (for approval, yes, but mainly) to define the term “dredge”. That was the first of many cakes that the family routinely requests.
Years later, after getting a degree in political science and losing her beloved father to cancer, Charlotte realized she loved cooking more than law. She made her way to East Tennessee where she worked in catering and at the renowned Blackberry farms. And although she was told she was good, she also knew the color of her skin was holding her back. She applied to The New England Culinary Institute (NECI) in Burlington, Vermont and was accepted.
Upon graduation, Charlotte travelled and cooked around the world, learning everything about meat and fish, African cuisine, Asian dishes, and traditional French cooking. She also learned about life. She worked with world renowned chef Anthony Keene who taught her “the kitchen is an equalizer” which gave her a new perspective on culture and socio-economic status in the kitchen.
Eventually, Charlotte made her way back to Nashville to cook at the Hermitage Hotel as the first black woman to lead the kitchen in the history of the hotel. After 8 years, it was time to go out on her own. She opened Yay-Yay’s and Mama Blanche on Jefferson street— both named after great-grandmothers in her family.
Mama Blanche is a brunch delivery service that operates out of Yay-Yays, an event management service, restaurant and event space on Jefferson street in North Nashville. The space is comfy and welcoming with a dj playing music in the morning and regulars coming and going. It’s adorned with local flowers, art, and other Nashville ephemera that celebrates the history of Jefferson Street. “It’s not an oasis, a catalyst” says Charlotte that allows our city and community to choose joy, evoke positivity and support each other.
Charlotte is committed to connecting the Nashville community through great food, while supporting areas of food insecurities, and creating redemption — that no person or thing should be wasted. She operates Project Return, which trains those previously incarcerated to become professional cooks, then places them in careers in the hospitality industry here in Nashville. Charlotte likes to call her work “radical hospitality.” She’s choosing joy and redemption despite the ticks along the way.
2025 Editor’s Update: Charlotte closed Yay Yay’s as a restaurant a couple years ago. But you can still savor her delicious food through her Mama Blanche catering, still on Jefferson Street.
mamablanche.com
@mamablanchenashville
