Alexis Nikole Nelson
Alexis Nikole Nelson, known as Black Forager, shares wild-food discoveries, vegan recipes, and the stories behind the plants growing around us.
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Alexis’s happenings, collected from public sources, plus her backstory and Starbook, where fans write.
Known for
Simon Element
Crash Course / PBS
TEDOverview
- Also known as
- Black Forager
- Based in
- Columbus, Ohio
- Work
- Forager, outdoor educator, video creator, and cookbook author
- Early spark
- Learning about edible plants in her mother’s garden as a child
- Breakout
- Foraging videos shared during the 2020 pandemic lockdowns
Mini bio
How it started.
Growing up in Cincinnati, Alexis learned plants from her mother and cooking from her father. One early discovery stayed with her: onion grass growing in the yard could be used in the kitchen. Foraging brought those two family interests together.
Finding her audience.
She started documenting her outings on Instagram as Black Forager in 2019. During the 2020 lockdowns, a TikTok about common edible plants reached far beyond her usual audience. What began as a way to help people stretch their groceries grew into a career teaching wild-food identification and cooking.
Food with a history.
Her work also explores Black and Indigenous food traditions and the barriers that separated communities from land and foraging knowledge. Fans come for the plants and recipes, and get songs, jokes, and a connection to the stories behind them.
Beyond the feed.
Alexis won the James Beard Foundation’s Social Media Account award in 2022, gave a TED2022 talk, and hosted Crash Course Botany in 2023. Her first cookbook, Happy Snacking, Don’t Die!, followed in September 2026, bringing her seasonal foraging and vegan cooking into print.
Creditschronological, newest first
Education and talks
- 2023Crash Course BotanyHost
- 2022A flavorful field guide to foragingTED2022 speaker
Awards
Quotes
So I look into natural spaces and I just see wonder.Alexis Nikole Nelson, NPR interview with Manoush Zomorodi
In a 2021 interview, Alexis described what she sees when she walks into a backyard or forest.
Trivia
- Onion grass was one of the first wild foods her mother introduced her to.
- Her familiar sign-off, “Happy snacking. Don’t die,” became the title of her debut cookbook.
- Her TED2022 talk included a live cooking demonstration.
Find Alexis
Follow Alexis for wild-food finds, plant stories, and vegan recipes.
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