CARIBBEAT: Good food and good relationships on ‘Conveaux’ menu in Brooklyn

There’s an international gastronomic collaboration — featuring some nutritious and relationship-healthy messages — coming to Brooklyn on July 17 and 24 when the “Culinary Conveaux” holds two member-only affairs at the 333 Lounge and Restaurant.

Healthy food preparation, along with beneficial personal relationships for couples and singles are on the menu for the event, which is being presented by the Conveaux relationships education firm, The Gathering Spot’s ethnically diverse private clubs, the Collective Fare agri-food and hospitality service, and the 333 Lounge, owned by Guyana-born Erwin Caesar. It is sponsored by Diageo, the leading global spirits and beer distributor.

“Through interactive demonstrations and hands-on experiences, participants will discover how specific ingredients, cooking techniques, and thoughtful meal preparation can heighten emotions, nurture relationships, and create unforgettable romantic experiences,” said Danisha Baughan, owner of the Conveaux social impact platform.

Leading the cooking at the Culinary Conveaux event is chef Roosevelt Ceasar , the culinary director at 333 Lounge. Ceasar defeated celebrity chef Bobby Flay on the “Beat Bobby Flay” TV series last year.

In addition to Caesar and Baughan, who has roots in St. Thomas and the U.S. Virgin Islands, other international connections in the Culinary Conveaux affair include Lydia Blanco, July 17′s moderator and the host of the “The Get My Life Tour” lifestyles podcast.

She’s Honduran and has Garifuna roots from the island St. Vincent. And Bahamian-rooted Sadé Muhammad, chief marketing officer for Time Magazine, will be moderating the July 24 event.

Culinary Conveaux partner Collective Fare, which operates retail and catering outlets in Brooklyn, also has global representation: Owner LaToya Meaders, who has a proud Jamaican Maroon ancestry, and Collective Fare chef Rodney Frazer hails from Sierra Leone in Africa.

Culinary Conveaux’s major sponsor is The Gathering Spot — a cutting-edge, private, members-only collective for Black professionals to connect in its Atlanta, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles flagship locations, and as well as its “connected cities,” including New York, Chicago and Houston. Learn more about membership at www.thegatheringspot.club.

JAMAICA DANCE GALA

A union, merger, and fusion of dance: It all adds up to “Amalgamation,” the annual international dance gala, presented by the Jamaica’s Plié for the Arts dance organization at the Little Theatre in Kingston, Jamaica on Wednesday and Thursday.

Dancers from “seven internationally acclaimed” companies will perform in the event, themed this year as “The Global Explosion of Dance,” and features American ballerina Michaela DePrince of the Boston Ballet. DePrince will perform, hold free master classes, and take part in a question-and-answer session with dancers across the Caribbean. There will also be a special tribute to Harry Belafonte by singer Tessane Chin and her Voice Box Kids, along with the Philharmonic Orchestra of Jamaica. For information, email plieforthearts@gmail.com.

CONGO & THE CARIBBEAN

With music performances, a film screening, and conversations with artists and scholars, the Bronx Music Heritage Center will be making connections between the Congo and Caribbean music and dance.

Part of BMHC’s Bronx Rising! series, “Congo Roots in the Diaspora: Kumina in Jamaica” will be held on July 22, at 7 p.m., and feature the screening of “Kumina Queen,” a Q&A with Nyasha Laing, the film’s director, and anthropologist Kenneth Bilby discussing “the Congo influence in popular Jamaican music.”

On Aug. 26, the series ends with “Congo Roots in the Diaspora,” on the Bronx Music Hall Plaza, starting at 4 p.m. Bandleader Román Díaz, historian Ivor Miller, and BMHC co-artistic director Bobby Sanabria will talk about Congolese influences and Cuban traditions. And the Román Díaz Ensemble will perform. Admission is $10 for the July event, with a discounted admission of $5 for students and seniors. Events in the outdoor plaza are free. Call (917) 557-2354.