Chef Kizzy Williams
Kizzy Williams is a leading area chef, expert on southern cooking, entrepreneur and community activist and organizer. She grew up on the East Side of Harlem and recognized her calling early, studying hospitality and culinary arts at Monroe College, and has since spent decades creating authentic southern dishes and working to spread an appreciation for classic soul food, one of America's true original cuisines.
Kizzy Williams owns and is the Executive Chef at Allie B's Cozy Kitchen in Albany, NY. The restaurant is the result of a generations-long legacy of community cooking. This legacy has defined Allie B wherever she has gone, from the backwoods of South Carolina to the bustling streets of Manhattan. In 2014, Kizzy opened Allie B's Cozy Kitchen and shared the family recipes taught to her by her mother with New York's Capital Region. Her passion is cooking and serving people and Allie B's reflects this passion. When people frequent it, they feel comforted, as if they are entering a refuge, where all are welcome and all will leave happy and satisfied.
She has not only transplanted her family’s recipes from the South, but also
their southern hospitality through unmatched customer service and the
treatment of every patron as a member of her own extended family.
With every passing year, Allie B’s culinary skills have become more popular
and sought-after. She has catered for leading religious officials, Legislators
from all levels of government, numerous Mayors and Executives, and countless organizations.
She regularly works alongside the most prominent corporations and officials in the state, managing their most important and renowned events and celebrations. These groups call on Kizzy/Allieb when nothing short of perfection is acceptable, knowing that just one of her signature dishes will transform an entire occasion. Jet Blue used her famous macaroni and cheese to signify their solidarity with the Capital Region during their Inaugural Flight Celebration at the Albany International Airport and The Black Caucus committee calls on her to handle their annual Albany Weekend, with
Speaker Carl Heastie inviting all corners of the State to come and experience
her Peach Cobbler.
Further building her business presence,Kizzy Allie B has since created Nicasio
Enterprises, a real estate management company which focuses on
diversifying neighborhoods and giving families the opportunity to move into
safer and more stable communities. She also now operates Allie B’s At Home,
a meal kit company which specializes in home delivery of complete meal kits
with the option of a live cooking tutorial on the evening of the delivery date.
She has also furthered her own version of community building through local
engagement, support and philanthropy. In doing so she has served every
unique sect of our local population through fellowship, volunteering and
charitable donations. Her restaurant has become a meeting place where Allie
joins with local organizations to teach her community about numerous topics
including home ownership, career opportunities, financial stability and how
to start one's own business. Annually, Kizzy/Allie B gives to dozens of local non-
profit organizations by way of hosting events, supplying dishes, offering free
meals and gift certificates as incentives during fundraising campaigns, and
sponsoring entire engagements. Most notably, she has created the Allie B's
Thanksgiving Giveaway, where over 1,000 individual meals are picked up by
families in need or delivered to area elderly and disabled citizens on
Thanksgiving Day. Many entire families are also chosen to receive entire
catered Thanksgiving meals delivered on the eve of the holiday.
In recognition of this continued devotion to her community, KizzyAllie B founded
The Cultural Center, a non-profit resource center located at 64 Quail Street in
Albany. The Cultural Center’s mission is to educate, empower and uplift all
individuals. The Center is a community space, with a food pantry on site, that
specializes in identifying the needs of a given population and providing access
to the resources and knowledge available to remedy those needs. She has
now expanded The Cultural Center’s reach by creating the Three Sister’s Orchard at 313 Orange St, a pristine, public fruit orchard where neighborhoods can experience nature within their own community and receive education on nutritional eating habits and sustainable food sourcing.
Kizzy/Allie B has been the recipient of numerous awards and accolades including
the People’s Choice Award for many consecutive years given by The Food
Pantries of the Capital District, being selected as a ‘Women Who Rock’
recipient by United Sisters of NY and a ‘Fearless Woman’ by She Speaks To
Me. In 2019, Allie B was named ‘Business Leader of the Year’ by In Our Own
Voices, Inc. She has also been named a “Great Woman of the Capital Region,” a Member of the “Great Renaissance of the Capital Region,” and a Member of the “Great Black Wall Street of the Capital Region.” Most recently, in 2023, Kizzy/Allie B was selected to represent the entire Capital Region in the Statewide I Love New York Media Showcase. Allie B continues to spread her love of southern cuisine, most recently working with the national production company Left Right Entertainment to
expand her influence on the genre. She was featured in a Food Network series airing in the Spring of 2021.
Through frequent television, radio and newspaper interviews and
appearances, Allie B has become the preeminent face of Southern Cooking in
the Capital Region. She is frequently showcased on the television networks
WNYT, Spectrum News, News 10 and CBS6, and featured in all the prominent
local newspapers, including the Times Union, the Troy Record, the Albany
Business Review and the Saratogian. Allie B uses these outlets to outspokenly
advocate for minorities and those that are challenged socioeconomically. She
has dedicated her life to educating and uplifting those in need and always
being a shining example of her own mantra: that obstacles can be overcome,
and that “dreams do come true.”