Pass the Peaz Founder Carl Vann
Photo credit: Pass the Peaz
Inspired by the family recipes his grandmother cooked while growing up, Carl Vann created the app Pass the Peaz to encourage individuals to save their most cherished recipes so that they will be preserved for generations to come.
“She was my best friend,” Carl shares during our conversation. Memories of his grandmother’s cooking have never left as he remembers their time together in the kitchen like it was yesterday. “From the age of 4, 5, she would just have me in there peeling the potatoes and snapping some peas, making me feel like I was actually doing something and I would say, “Oh, yeah I helped me that,” he says smiling.
The Charleston, South Carolina native can recall the flavors, smells and sounds of food cooking when she was in the kitchen. With recipes rooted in the family’s rich Gullah Geechee heritage, he would later go on to recreate as many recipes as possible by memory as a adult.
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Remembering Grandma with Pass the Peaz
“When I lost my grandma, we lost more than just a biscuit recipe. We lost what I would say is valuable pieces of our culture.” Determined to know as many family recipes as possible, he shares that he then got in the kitchen with his mother and aunts to document recipes they may have learned from his grandmother.
But after talking friends, he realized his family wasn’t the only one at risk of losing family recipes due to them not being written down or not saved anyway. This discovery lead to the creation of Pass the Peaz, an app where individuals can save recipes that can be shared with others, especially family members.
Launched September 2024, the app is designed to make passing down recipes easy. You can upload a photo, as well as instruction videos for those who like to visually learn. You can also share them with others on the app or just family members.
In addition, also int the spirit of his grandmother and her willingness to always serve and feed others, Pass the Peaz also has a philanthropic component that works to give meals to those experiencing food insecurity in the Colombia, South Carolina area where he now lives. Carl works with local restaurants to rescue food not served at the end of the night to provide to food banks. Something he sees expanding to more cities in the state.
Learn more about Pass the Peaz and how you can help support families by downloading the app and uploading an recipe. You can also follow along on Instagram for news, events and updates.
Watch the teaser below and the full conversation on YouTube.
