Alexis Nikole Nelson
Born (1992-05-26) May 26, 1992
Cincinnati, Ohio
Alma materOhio State University
Known forForaging, social media accounts
AwardsJames Beard Award (2022)

Alexis Nikole Nelson (born May 26, 1992) is an American forager, cook, and internet personality. She maintains the TikTok account alexisnikole and Instagram page blackforager, where she posts videos of her foraging finds along with cooking techniques and historical information.

In 2022, Nelson won the inaugural James Beard Award for Best Social Media Account.

Early life and education

Alexis Nikole Nelson grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio. Her mother first showed her how to forage at the age of five by introducing her to onion grass.[1] She attended the New School Montessori and Walnut Hills High School, from which she graduated in 2010. She graduated from the Ohio State University in 2015 with degrees in environmental science and theatre.

Career

Nelson posts videos of her foraging finds on social media accounts. Her videos are informal, playful, and humorous, despite a long experience and encyclopedic knowledge of foraging.[2] She has maintained the Instagram account "blackforager" since 2019, and created the TikTok page "alexisnikole" in 2020. Nelson's posts concern such topics as the indigenous roots of foraging in America, the history of American foraging laws, and sustainable ways for her viewers to include wild plants and mushrooms in their diets, with a focus on vegan recipes.[3][4][5] In most of her videos, she documents ingredients that she finds in the wild and then turns them into dishes using her own or adapted recipes.[6]

Her popularity grew in 2021, from under 500,000 TikTok followers early that year to 3.3 million by January 2022. Her efforts were successful enough that she left her office job in September 2021 to focus on her foraging work full-time. National media attention that year included New York Times and Bon Appétit articles, as well as segments on The Kelly Clarkson Show and The Drew Barrymore Show. She was also added to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list that year.[7]

In April 2022, Alexis attended the 2022 TED conference in Vancouver, the first since the COVID-19 pandemic began. At the conference, she gave a TED Talk about her foraging work, and cooked sweet-and-salty seaweed chips using Vancouver-foraged bull kelp.[8] In June 2022, she won the James Beard Award for social media influence. Her accounts at the time had a cumulative 4.8 million followers.[9][10][11]

In January 2023 Nelson appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live!.[12]

Nelson is currently working on a cookbook, to be published by Simon & Schuster in 2024.[7][13]

In 2023, Nelson joined the YouTube channel Crash Course, where she will host a 15-episode series on botany.[14]

In December, 2023, an episode of Eat This with Yara featuring Nelson titled 'The Awful Truth About ‘No Trespassing’ Signs' won "Outstanding Lifestyle Program" at the 50th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards.[15]

Influences

Nelson attributes her interest in foraging to both natural inclination and her family's African and indigenous heritage.[6]

Personal life

Nelson lives in Columbus, Ohio, with a partner and several pets. She practices a vegan diet.[2]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Moseley, Brittany (May 24, 2021). "Forager Alexis Nikole Nelson Wants You to Go Outside". Columbus Monthly. Retrieved September 18, 2021.
  2. 1 2 Durand, Faith (August 7, 2020). "The Green, Magical Wild World of Alexis Nikole Nelson, Forager and TikTok Star". Kitchn. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  3. ↑ Mohtasham, Diba; Zomorodi, Manoush (September 9, 2021). "Meet Alexis Nikole Nelson, The Wildly Popular 'Black Forager'". NPR.org. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
  4. ↑ Greenlee, Cynthia (July 30, 2021). "How Black Foragers Find Freedom in the Natural World". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
  5. ↑ Dosanj, Aman (January 23, 2023). "Alexis Nikole Nelson Is Reclaiming Wild Spaces". Elle Canada. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  6. 1 2 Ogadhoh, Jaelen (August 1, 2021). "Alexis Nikole Nelson is bringing foraging into the mainstream". TheGrio. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
  7. 1 2 Moseley, Brittany (January 19, 2022). "Alexis Nikole Nelson's Very Good Year: The Black Forager Reflects on a Jam-Packed 2021". Columbus Monthly. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  8. ↑ Akhtar, Allana. "6 most striking moments at the first in-person TED conference in years, from Elon Musk to Putin's portrait photographer to a metaverse demo". Insider. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  9. ↑ Ghose, Dave. "TikTok Star Alexis Nikole Nelson is Nominated for a James Beard Award". Columbus Monthly. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  10. ↑ "Here Are the 2022 James Beard Foundation Media Award Winners". Eater. June 11, 2022. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  11. ↑ Robinson, Cameron Teague. "'I'm still in shock': Alexis Nelson, the 'Black Forager,' on winning a James Beard Award". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  12. ↑ Edwards, Erin (January 18, 2023). "BlackForager Alexis Nikole Nelson Goes Foraging with Jimmy Kimmel". Columbus Monthly. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  13. ↑ Moseley, Brittany (December 7, 2022). "TikTok Megastar Alexis Nikole Nelson Learns to Balance Foraging Fame With Life Off-Screen". Columbus Monthly. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  14. ↑ Crash Course Botany Preview!
  15. ↑ Staff, Al Jazeera. "AJ+ wins prestigious Emmy Award in Los Angeles". Al Jazeera. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
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