by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 11:10 AM ET, Mon August 25, 2025
AmaWaterways has partnered with James Beard Award-winning Chef, restaurateur, author and Grammy Award-winning opera singer Alexander Smalls to curate a Signature Juneteenth Dinner on every Soulful Experience journey with the cruise line, beginning in 2025.
The multi-course dinner menu will celebrate and honor African and Black diaspora culinary traditions, drawing on Smalls' Gullah Geechee heritage and Creole cuisine. Dishes may include hush puppies, corn-based soups, sweet pickled shrimp and more.
"Our Soulful Experience river cruises celebrate the beauty and contributions of the African and Black diaspora, inviting travelers to connect with this rich heritage through the flavors, music, and stories that shaped it," said Jazzmine Douse, Senior Director of National Accounts at AmaWaterways and visionary of the Soulful Experience sailings. "Partnering with Chef Alexander Smalls is such a gift. His culinary artistry and powerful storytelling will make our Juneteenth celebrations on board even more meaningful and unforgettable."
Alexander Smalls' Signature Juneteenth Dinner will debut on the August Soulful Experience Sailing and all others, including cruises sailing the Magdalena River in Colombia, the Seine, the Nile River, the Mekong and the Douro. Each Soulful Experience includes curated land packages and experiences highlighting African and Black diaspora heritage around the world.
"Creating this Juneteenth menu for AmaWaterways' Soulful Experience is deeply personal for me," said Smalls, who is the former owner of The Cecil and Minton's in Harlem. "Every dish carries a story, a piece of history, and the resilience of a people who transformed humble ingredients into a vibrant culinary legacy. I wanted guests to taste not only the flavors but also the heritage, the struggle, and the triumph that each recipe represents."
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