Osayi Endolyn is a James Beard award-winning writer and culture strategist who creates narrative, visual, and experiential storytelling. For more than a decade, Osayi has worked as an author, editor, producer, and curator to transform complex ideas into consumable, beautiful, informative stories, products, and experiences. Notable collaborations include: serving on PepsiCo’s advisory council for equity, content development for Pandora Music and the Museum of Food and Drink, and producing special projects with the Blue Note Jazz Festival, BLM, and Emerson Collective.
With her unique mix of candor, humor, and approachability, Osayi’s voice is sought after on subjects of foodways, culture, global travel, and identity. She’s been recognized with two James Beard Awards in journalism and broadcast media, an arts and culture Webby, a journalism fellowship from UC Berkeley-11th Hour, among other celebrated residencies, writing awards, and industry honors.
Her writing is published in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the Oxford American, Bon Appetit, Conde Nast Traveler, Food & Wine, Travel + Leisure, Departures, Eater, Esquire, The Cut, and more. Her on-camera commentary is featured on popular shows like Chef’s Table, Ugly Delicious, and The Next Thing You Eat. She has contributed to multiple acclaimed anthologies and is the writer on genre-defining narrative cookbooks with Marcus Samuelsson and Ghetto Gastro; her book contributions cumulatively represent more than 150,000 copies sold.
Osayi is a storyteller because she believes we can imagine transformative futures when we better understand and honor our collective histories. Her multidisciplinary approach attracts brands that wish to have a meaningful, action-oriented, long term impact with their audiences. As a consultant and creative, she understands how expressions like food, language, music, and art are the outcomes of people whose experiences are shaped by where and how they live. Osayi brings a vital, energized approach to her craft that embraces, celebrates, and shifts the culture.
Photo credit: Lanscine Janneh/BFA.com