Nneka A. Nurse

Founder & CEO, Best Dressed Plate LLC
Academy Chair, Caribbean Region — World’s 50 Best Restaurants North America

Nneka A. Nurse is the Founder and CEO of Best Dressed Plate LLC, a Caribbean culinary consultancy working at the intersection of food, culture, and international tourism strategy. Her work spans event production, tourism board consulting, sponsorship development, and cultural storytelling  all built on a single argument that Caribbean cuisine is not emerging or exotic. It has always been here, and it belongs at the global table.

She holds the appointment as Academy Chair for the Caribbean Region under World’s 50 Best Restaurants North America. She is the first person named to represent the Caribbean at that level of the world’s most influential restaurant ranking. In that role she helps shape how Caribbean culinary excellence is evaluated and recognized internationally. In 2026, she was a guest host on EatUp! NYC, the James Beard– and two-time Emmy–nominated series hosted by Chef Marcus Samuelsson on ABC7.

Her event portfolio spans the James Beard House, the United Nations Delegates Dining Room, and premier food and wine festivals across the United States and the Caribbean. She is the producer and creative director of The Navigator’s Table, an ongoing chef residency series at Wyndham Grand Barbados (Sam Lord’s Castle), produced in formal partnership with Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. She has also produced programming with Sandals Resorts and the tourism authorities of St. Kitts and Grenada.

In this role as the Global Expert for the Caribbean with IGCAT, her contributions will focus on culinary tourism, regional food identity, and cultural heritage programming across the Caribbean. Since 2026, she has been recognised as an Expert by the International Institute of Gastronomy, Culture, Arts and Tourism (IGCAT).