Award-winning chef and co-founder of The Grey - Mashama Bailey will be the keynote speaker at the 16th annual Tribute to Community STARs hosted by the Savannah Technical College Foundation Community Council on Friday, October 28, 2022.  The STARs (Savannah Tech Achievement Recognition awards) event has recognized 300 people for their service and dedication in the community or at work. It will be held at 11 a.m., in the Eckburg Auditorium on the College’s Savannah Campus (5717 White Bluff Road).  

The event emcee is Roger Moss, who has been a GOAL student of the year judge for the College and was honored as a STAR in 2011. Guests will enjoy a low country brunch prepared by Savannah Culinary Institute students.

Bailey is the award-winning executive chef and co-founder of Grey Spaces, the hospitality group behind restaurants such as the critically acclaimed The Grey and its all-day counterpart The Grey Market in Savannah. In 2022, she and Grey Spaces co-founder/business partner Johno Morisano opened two restaurants, the Diner Bar, and a new outpost of The Grey Market that showcase the Grey Spaces’ distinct take on Port City Southern fare in the new Thompson Austin (Texas).

Born in the Bronx and raised in Queens with maternal roots from Waynesboro, Ga., Bailey attended grammar school in Savannah. She first learned to cook at the hands of the women in her family and her formal education includes the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE) in New York City as well as LaVarenne in Burgundy, France. Prior to The Grey, Bailey’s career includes a dozen years cooking throughout New York City, the last four of which were at Prune on Manhattan’s Lower East Side under the tutelage of Gabrielle Hamilton. In 2019 and with the premier of Netflix’s Chef’s Table Season 6, she became the first African American chef to star on that show. 

Together with Morisano, Bailey co-wrote Black, White and The Grey (Ten Speed Press/Penguin Random House) which explores the business partners’ challenges navigating race, class and culture while building businesses, relationships, and community in the South.

Bailey took home the 2022 James Beard Award for Outstanding Chef and the 2019 James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southeast. The is also the chairwoman of the Edna Lewis Foundation, whose mission is to honor and extend the legacy of Edna Lewis by creating opportunities for African Americans in the fields of cooking, agriculture, food studies, and storytelling.

The STC Foundation Community Council is a group of young professionals charged with expanding the local knowledge and profile of the College and its mission. The group raises funds to support the college, its programs and students.

STAR sponsorships start at $1,000 and will be accepted through September 30, 2022, space permitting. Sponsorships include a table for eight, custom STAR portrait, STAR award presentation, and post-event social media recognition. Individual tickets cost $125 per person – seating is limited. Call 912.443.3022 for information. Event proceeds benefit Savannah Technical College Foundation’s support of students.

Founded in 1984, the Savannah Technical College Foundation is a private, nonprofit organization that exists to raise and disburse funds to support the College’s efforts to enhance learning, workforce training and economic development in Bryan, Chatham, Effingham and Liberty counties.