While studying business administration at the University of Bridgeport (“pretty much just to please her”), Onwuachi told his mom he wanted to pursue cooking.
She later moved to Baton Rouge and then New Orleans, and Onwuachi followed along. Onwuachi grew up “at her feet,” watching her pull from a variety of culinary influences as she prepared meals. His emphasis on fluidity of culture and culinary influence finds its roots in the techniques he learned and enthusiasm he inherited from his mother, who operated a catering company from her home. Moving quickly and with a tenacious desire to learn, Onwuachi, the Bronx-raised son of a Creole mother and Nigerian and Jamaican father, has made adaptation of both business strategy and food itself a hallmark of his stacked early career. The entire process felt like a blitz to Onwuachi, who “always wanted to open a restaurant but never knew it would happen that fast.” By the time he was 25, he was competing on Top Chef (he finished sixth in his season) and securing initial investments in the Shaw Bijou after winning a competition through a company called Brenner Labs. He eventually spent time as a line cook at the city’s famed Eleven Madison Park. The young chef went from waiting tables and cleaning kitchens in New York to starting his own catering company at 20. This being our first restaurant, and for some a first business venture, we had a substantial amount of learning and adjusting to do.”īut no major review ran after the restaurant’s switch to the more modest price, and within weeks, the Shaw Bijou had closed.īefore the Shaw Bijou, Onwuachi’s love of cooking had already taken him on quickly evolving journeys. In a December press release, Onwuachi said humility “creeps up on you when least expected, and the opening of this restaurant has taught us just that. “You’re gonna have to deal with it and adapt, or - I mean, there is no ‘or,’ that’s all you can do really.”įor Onwuachi, adaptation meant tweaking the original $185 tasting menu and offering a $95, seven-course menu instead. It’s part of being in the industry - getting judged. “It hurts - you put a lot of energy into something, and then someone can come along and say that they just don’t think it’s good or needs work,” Onwuachi said when we spoke recently. Onwuachi needed to change something, and he needed to do it quickly. Onwuachi will be in conversation with Nina Oduro, a co-founder at Dine Diaspora, an agency that connects people and brands to African food culture.The restaurant, with its high prices, online ticketing system for its 32 seats, multiroom-dinner-party-style setup, and Icelandic sheep wool–covered seats, was sinking under the weight of its own hype. Onwuachi is a James Beard Award-winning chef as well as a former contestant and now recurring judge on “Top Chef.” He opened five restaurants before turning 30, including former DC eateries Kith/Kin and Shaw Bijou. The result is a deeply personal tribute to the food of “a land that belongs to you and yours and to me and mine.” Interwoven throughout the book are stories of Onwuachi’s travels, illuminating the connections between food and culture. From Nigerian jollof, Puerto Rican red bean sofrito, and Trinidadian channa (chickpea) curry to jambalaya, baby back ribs, and red velvet cake, these global home recipes represent the best of the patchwork that is American cuisine. My America is a celebration of the food of the African Diaspora as handed down through Kwame Onwuachi’s own family history, spanning Nigeria to the Caribbean, the South to the Bronx, and beyond. In his first cookbook, My America: Recipes from a Young Black Chef, the acclaimed author of Notes from a Young Black Chef shares over 125 dishes showcasing the true diversity of American food. All books will be pre-signed by the author. This program does not include a book signing.
Please review our health and safety protocols here. At this in-person event (with a virtual attendance option), masks and proof of vaccination are required.
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