Kwame Onwuachi, possibly the hottest chef of color at the moment, reveals his inspiration and sacrifices
His success in the New York area is nearly legendary. Onwuachi 's Manhattan restaurant, Tatiana, earned a best new restaurant nod from The New York Times and is a James Beard Foundation nominee for the same honor.
Yes, my firstborn just started at Howard University last fall, but because of a celebrated chef’s recent social post, we already know where we’ll be celebrating my son’s future graduation. Kwame Onwuachi, an author, celebrity and preparer of an intimate fête for Queen Bey and her friends, is bringing his talents to within minutes of Howard’s campus.
On Instagram, Onwuachi declared, “After yeearrrrs in the making I’m proud to announce my new restaurant, Dōgon, coming to Washington DC soon.” The 34-year-old restaurateur launches Dōgon at Salamander, billionaire Black businesswoman Sheila Johnson’s luxurious hotel in the heart of the district later this spring. Dōgon will serve specialties from Onwuachi’s Nigerian, Trinidadian, Jamaican and Creole heritage in a 200-seat dining room.
His success in the New York area is nearly legendary as reservations are already nigh impossible to come by at his chic and fashionable Afro-Caribbean-inspired Tatiana by Kwame Onwuachi in Lincoln Center. Last month, The New York Times anointed the eatery, named for Onwuachi’s older sister, as the best new restaurant in New York City. And just days ago the James Beard Foundation announced Tatiana as a semifinalist for best new restaurant.
Raised in the Bronx and the Delta State of Nigeria then educated at the Culinary Institute of America, Onwuachi’s ascent to celebrity chef status as a Black male is akin to the mercurial rise of Marcus Samuelsson. He’s authored two books: “Notes From a Young Black Chef: A Memoir” and “My America: Recipes From a Young Black Chef.” Four years ago, there were reports that actor LaKeith Stanfield would play Onwuachi in a movie adaptation of his life story.
He’s appeared on “Top Chef” as a contestant and guest judge and received earlier recognition from the James Beard Foundation in 2019 as the Rising Star Chef of the Year. Beyoncé once booked Tatiana to celebrate a sold-out show on her Renaissance tour. There’s arguably no hotter chef of color on the rise at the moment.
Dressed in all black with his signature spectacles, Onwuachi fielded some questions via Zoom from Los Angeles to discuss his upbringing in the birthplace of hip-hop, his favorite bodega snacks, his greatest inspiration and more.
What’s the difference between the restaurant culture of Washington, D.C. – the home of Dōgon, where you also launched the former Kith/Kin restaurant – and your native New York City, home to Tatiana?
I think New York City is just a bigger city, so there’s more [dining] options, and D.C. has limited options. And then that also turns to the professional side of it. There’s not many people to pull from [to hire], as opposed to the millions of people in New York City looking for jobs. So, the talent pool is a little harder. I think D.C.’s small, but it’s mighty, and there’s quality over quantity. D.C. has tourists just like New York has tourists. There’s just more of them [in New York City]. But my restaurants bring a unique group of people that come in no matter where I open up.
How did being raised in the Bronx contribute to your success?
I would say it just shaped me as a human. I think in the Bronx, you have to grow up fast. You’re exposed to a lot at a very young age. I think people that come from the Bronx have a true grit about them about making things happen. I think that, coupled with the exposure to all the different cultures in the Bronx, definitely contributed to my career. But I think people from the Bronx are citizens of the world. They just call it like it is. It’s a beautiful place to grow up.
What were your go-to snacks at the neighborhood bodegas growing up?
The powdered donuts! The barbeque Flavor Twists Fritos. Swedish Fish. Sour Patch Kids. [Marinos Italian] icee cups. All of those things.
Explain your decision to bring elements of your past to the menu at Tatiana, like your chocolate brownie inspired by Little Debbie cakes.
I wanted to give a voice to the inaudible, and also tell the stories of the people that make New York City what it is in general, the people in the boroughs that really have built this city. I wanted to tell those stories, also weaving my childhood through that and a little bit of nostalgia. Y’know, dishes that I grew up eating in the Bronx; things that I ended up drinking in the Bronx. We have a nutcracker [cocktail] on the menu. We have an homage to the icee carts on the menu.
I wanted to tell those stories and then also honor San Juan Hill, which was there before Lincoln Center. There was an Afro-Caribbean and Latin community that was thriving before all of that. All of those things gave me the inspiration for Tatiana. But the Bronx for sure, things that I grew up eating, with my sister being the namesake of the restaurant.
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Do you think the phenomenon of the celebrity chef has affected the food industry for good or bad?
I think it’s been great. I think it’s given people access to food visually, and I think humans in general just receive things visually. I think it exploded people’s interest in cuisine, and not just the basic levels. I think it introduced different styles of techniques and more variety of things. Just, like, bread [for example]. I think growing up, there was not that many types of bread [well-known] in general. Now it’s brioche and sourdough and things. You find that everywhere. I think that starts with the publicity of food in general and making it more exciting.
I think in a bad way, it maybe glamorized the life of a chef and made it not really realistic. And I think we have that effect in the industry, of getting people that just wanna be famous, or think it’s just all fun and games, or just shoot straight to stardom by just being on television. There’s not a true honing of the craft. I think that essence has been diluted a little bit.
What is the biggest sacrifice you’ve made to achieve your success?
Time with family and friends. I don’t have that luxury.
What’s been the most memorable night for you thus far at Tatiana?
Probably when Jay-Z and Beyoncé bought out Tatiana. It was like after her concert. She came and enjoyed Tatiana just with some friends and family. It was really small and intimate. And it was really great for her to want to celebrate. I just look at it like millions of people go to see her, and she came to see me. Young Guru deejayed. It was really, really cool.
What chef has been most inspirational to you coming up?
My mom. She’s a chef, Jewel Robinson. She started a catering company out of the house, and at a very young age, I had to help out. That’s how I even got into this industry, so I would say her.
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Miles Marshall Lewis (@MMLunlimited) is an author and Harlem-based cultural critic whose work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, GQ, Rolling Stone and many other outlets. Lewis is currently finishing a cultural biography of comedian Dave Chappelle, his follow-up to Promise That You Will Sing About Me: The Power and Poetry of Kendrick Lamar.
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