Saint Lucian chef Nina Compton is celebrating another milestone after appearing on the cover of Essence Magazine’s “Culture’s Curators” issue.
The award-winning chef appears on the July 21 issue alongside Hollywood actress Sanaa Lathan, television producer and writer Mara Brock Akil, and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones. Together, the four women served as the visionaries shaping the programming for ESSENCE’s 2026 Festival of Culture.
For Compton, whose career has grown tremendously, being featured on the cover of ESSENCE – a renowned lifestyle publication— is another incredible feat.
As part of her curatorial role, Compton led the festival’s Food & Wine experience, bringing a perspective shaped by her Caribbean roots and her home base in New Orleans, said ESSENCE.
“It’s truly special to be coordinating everything,” she told the publication. “Working with the local chefs, spotlighting our culture and highlighting women chefs, women brand ambassadors, and just spotlighting the city of New Orleans.”
Birthed in New Orleans in 1995, the ESSENCE Festival is America’s largest annual gathering of African-American musical talent featuring an unprecedented weekend of cultural celebrations, ESSENCE Empowerment Seminars and nightly musical performances. The event is held every year in New Orleans, Louisiana, during the Fourth of July weekend.
In a feature on their website, the publication noted that “This year’s ESSENCE Festival of Culture took a curatorial approach, positioning each woman as an architect of experience. While Lathan and Compton curated ESSENCE’s film and culinary experiences, respectively, Hannah-Jones and Brock Akil co-curated the Book Festival at the ESSENCE Authors stage. Together, they created unforgettable memories and conversations beyond surface-level storytelling into deeper, more intentional dialogue.”
Additionally, the article stated, “Seeing how these incomparable women’s work has long shaped how Black stories are told, tasted, and remembered, it is no surprise they were tapped to shape the Festival’s culinary, literary, television, and film programming. But rather than just formally announcing them as ESSENCE’s newest cover stars, the team hosted a “We Love Us” community reception to honor and celebrate them the “Big Easy” way.”
The achievement has drawn praise from back home. In a post online, Export Saint Lucia commended Compton for her continued representation on the world stage.
“Chef Nina Compton continues to show the world what Lucian excellence looks like! Recognized alongside some of today’s most influential cultural voices, she embodies the creativity, resilience, and vision that define our people,” the agency shared. “At Export Saint Lucia, celebrating Chef Nina Compton isn’t new. The Taste of Saint Lucia brand has proudly carried her cookbook because we’ve always recognized her as one of Saint Lucia’s finest ambassadors.”
Moreover, Export Saint Lucia added, “Her latest ESSENCE feature reminds us that Saint Lucian talent belongs on the world stage. We’re proud to continue celebrating her journey and to use moments like these to spotlight the incredible people who carry our island’s name with distinction.”