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Black cooks of as we speak are extra than simply skilled cooks. Not solely do they curate award-winning menus for institutions throughout the globe—whether or not their very own or people who have employed them—however many additionally work to pay homage to our neighborhood’s cultural foodways.
From taking conventional staples introduced over from West Africa, equivalent to yams or purple rice, and remodeling them into elevated dishes coupled with substances native to the Americas, Black culinary artists of as we speak are serving to to carry extra visibility to the gastronomic traditions of the diaspora.
Right here at EBONY, our purpose is to all the time push Black ahead—in each trade. This yr, we wish to additional this trigger by giving flowers to a number of the high Black culinary professionals around the globe. This esteemed listing was curated by taking a look at their contributions and accomplishments over the previous couple of years. From opening new eating places and being James Beard Award winners, to educating society on Black meals in their very own manner.
So, with out additional ado—and in no explicit order—we current the inaugural class of the EBONY Meals & Wine Honors for Greatest Black Cooks.
Chef Kwame Onwuachi
Nigerian-American chef Kwame Onwuachi is actually blazing his personal path within the trade. Bursting into the highlight after his look on Bravo’s High Chef in 2015, he is been on the helm of opening and cooking in a number of the nation’s—and world’s—most extremely rated kitchens and occasions. All the time trying on the larger image, Onwuachi opened his personal idea, Tatiana, in November 2022 in NYC’s Lincoln Heart. Past his top-notch culinary abilities, the Lengthy Island born culinary wizard can be a printed creator who’s newest work, My America: Recipes from a Younger Black Chef, was launched in Could 2022.
Chef Mashama Bailey
A drive to be reckoned with, Bronx-born chef Mashama Bailey has been thought-about America’s “most vital chef” by many prestigious retailers. However in the case of her listing of accolades, the listing is lengthy. In 2019 , she was the James Beard Award winner for “Greatest Chef within the Southeast”—certainly one of solely two Black ladies in historical past at the moment to obtain such recognition. And in 2022, she received the James Beard Award for Excellent Chef. Then, there’s her restaurant, The Gray, which she co-founded with John O. Morisano in Savannah, Georgia. It has obtained worldwide recognition and loads of awards. She’s written cookbooks, appeared on Bravo’s High Chef and Chef’s Desk; but her greatest accomplishment is educating Black historical past via delicacies, one thing she’s very keen about. Since 2017, Bailey has served as chairwoman of the Edna Lewis Basis, which works to “revive, protect, and have fun the wealthy historical past of African-American cookery by cultivating a deeper understanding of Southern meals and tradition in America.
Chef Charlie Mitchell
Detroit-born chef Charlie Mitchell has executed what no different Black govt chef has executed—win a coveted Michelin star for his work at Clover Hill in Brooklyn, NY, which he co-owns. He is the primary Black chef in NYC to obtain this designation general, and amongst solely 3 Black cooks to perform such a feat within the prestigious information’s historical past. At solely 32-years-old, he is simply getting began, however his love for the kitchen was born from gathering with family members over nice meals as a baby. His two objectives: to obtain a minimum of 3 Michelin stars over the course of his culinary profession, and to make sure that individuals depart his restaurant saying, that was the perfect meal I’ve had all yr. We will say, he is effectively on his manner.
Chef Maame Boakye
Hailing from Accra, Ghana, Chef Maame Boakye’s storied culinary journey has spanned the globe. She is at present the CEO and Chef de Delicacies of GHastro in East Legon in Accra. The positive eating restaurant options conventional West African and Afro Caribbean cuisines. Though raised and educated in New York Metropolis, Boakye now works to offer her homeland the shine that it deserves; in spite of everything, you may’t speak about American delicacies of as we speak with out mentioning West Africa. Past her restaurant, she is the co-founder of Dine Diaspora, which connects individuals to African diaspora meals tradition. The Ghanaian chef additionally received an episode of Chopped in 2020.
Chef Damarr Brown
This yr, Chef Damarr Brown of Chicago’s Advantage Restaurant was named a finalist for the James Beard Basis’s “Greatest Rising Chef” award. In 2022, he was chosen for Meals and Wine’s “Greatest New Cooks in America”class that yr. Though he is nonetheless thought-about a newcomer in comparison with most, Brown was a standout on Season 19 of High Chef whereas his model of merging flavors from across the globe—with a deal with these discovered all through the diaspora—have individuals operating to Chicago for a style of his present restaurant’s menu. Positively preserve your eyes open for this chef, as he’ll solely get higher.
Chef Sophia Roe
At solely 33-years-old, Chef Sophia Roe is persistently shifting the way in which the world views meals and its origins. Of Black and Japanese heritage, she makes use of her platforms to coach the plenty in regards to the cultural nuances within the culinary world, whereas politely letting people know that Black foodways are an integral—and essential—a part of the meals historical past within the Americas. A former James Beard Award winner, Roe can be the host of the streaming sequence Counter Area, the place she not solely shares a few of her finest recipes and dishes, however she holds impactful and obligatory conversations on delicacies and the way in which it impacts our lives and society as an entire.
Chef Shawn McKenzie
One other 2023 James Beard Award finalist, this time for the class of “Excellent Pastry Chef or Baker,” Chef Shawn McKenzie is displaying the world that pastry cooks are simply as gifted as others within the culinary discipline. With greater than 20-years below her belt, McKenzie is now primarily based in Minnesota the place she serves as govt pastry chef for 2 ideas—Café Cerés (which she co-founded) and Rustica Bakery. Her baking portfolio runs deep, however her signature is chocolate chip cookies—a recipe she’s been perfecting since she was only a child.
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