One of the world’s most exciting chefs is telling the story of West African history and culture in the US through food
From growing up in the Bronx, to opening Tatiana at the Lincoln Center in New York – which was named Resy One To Watch at The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2023 less than a year after opening – it’s been quite the journey for chef and restaurateur Kwame Onwuachi. Along the way, he’s fitted in working for his mother’s catering company from the age of five, selling chocolate on the subway to help pay for culinary school, working at Eleven Madison Park, experiencing a dramatic allergic reaction in the private dining room at Per Se, and appearing on TV show Top Chef as both a contestant and judge.
With his new restaurant, Dōgon, set to open on L’Enfant Plaza in Washington D.C. in 2024, Onwuachi joined #50BestTalks in Las Vegas as part of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2024 event programme to chat about Cosmic Brownies, halal cart chicken and frozen White Castle burgers.
When did you first know you wanted to be a chef?
I knew at a pretty young age. My mom was a chef and she operated a catering company from the house – very much against the law – and she put us to work from about five years old. I didn't really have a choice, but I fell in love with cooking through that process. The chore turned into a passion and that passion turned into a career.
A range of dishes at Tatiana, where the food covers four pillars of culture
The food at Tatiana takes influences from lots of different places. Is there a particular cuisine you gravitate towards?
There are four pillars of culture at Tatiana: Nigerian, Trinidadian, Creole from Louisiana, and Jamaican. It’s based on my culture, but also tells the story of all the beautiful cultures that made New York City what it is. When I was pitching the idea to Lincoln Center, I told them I wanted Afro Caribbean cuisine, and a restaurant that really represents old New York. And they were like, ‘Oh, you mean like the Ritz Carlton. And the Four Seasons?’ We grew up in very different parts of New York. I'm talking about the birth of hip hop, the immigrant culture, the Bronx… the things that give New York City its grit. I want to tell that story through cuisine. The location used to be San Juan Hill, and the Afro Caribbean community was pushed out so the Lincoln Center could be built. So I said, ‘I’m going to put a restaurant here that would be here regardless of whether y’all were here or not.’
Onwuachi wants Tatiana to tell the story of his New York
You talk a lot about food that tells stories. Is there a story you can tell about one of your dishes?
There’s a dish called Halal Cart Chicken. In New York City, there's the halal carts on the side of the road that serve chicken and lamb over rice with hot sauce and white sauce. When people ask what my favourite meal is in New York City, I normally say halal cart. It's the food that feeds a lot of people, including me as a young cook. It was what I could afford. So we have a dish inspired by that.
Are there any stories you can tell us about your time at Per Se?
I was a cook there and it was long hours. They changed the menu every single day and we didn't have much time to eat – I was 100 pounds soaking wet. I was in the private dining room and there was a bunch of [signature Thomas Keller dish] Oysters and Pearls just sitting there. I was hungry, but also, this was my chance to taste one of these dishes. So I ate one really quickly. And then I realised I was having an allergic reaction. I didn't know I was allergic to oysters. I grew up Creole and we ate shrimp and oysters all the time, but it must have developed later. So I'm in the bathroom, my throat is pretty much closing. But I thought, I can't go out and tell Chef I just ate an oyster. I thought, I'm just gonna die here. That's fine. Totally cool. But then my throat opened back up and I went out and continued my shift. And that was it. So now I know I'm allergic to oysters.
You’ve said you can't talk about American cuisine without talking about West African food. Can you tell us a bit more about that connection?
African American culture never really got credit for the things it’s contributed to America – the cuisine being one of them. When a black person cooks, it's soul food, but when a white person cooks, it’s Southern cuisine. People weren’t the only thing that came over from Africa; it was their food, culture, way of life. And that’s been integrated into America. Think of barbecue, you think of Creole cuisine. A lot of those things started in West Africa and Africa in general.
Guests at #50BestTalks in Las Vegas tried Onwuachi's Cosmic Brownie
Tell us about your Cosmic Brownie?
To be quite honest, it's just a f**king brownie! We're not aerating it or anything, but it’s nostalgic. The cool thing is that we serve it with a powdered doughnut ice cream in the shape of the doughnut. We could have just served powdered doughnuts, but we took a long time and broke it down and put it into a mould which is really fun and whimsical. It's inspired by my trips to the bodega as a kid, getting $1 from your parents and making it work for the whole day. A Cosmic Brownie was on the list, as well as a pack of powdered doughnuts, probably some Sour Patch Kids and a quarter juice. Then you're eating like a king in the Bronx. I wanted to bring that to the world.
What feeds your creative process?
If a dish has a story, it has a soul. You're not just cooking for perfect seasoning or ego, you're cooking to share an experience with someone. We try to really follow that rule at Tatiana – and in any restaurant I have.
How were both your experiences on Top Chef – as a contestant and judge – and which did you enjoy more?
Definitely being the judge as I didn't have to run around and make a taco in five minutes or something. But both were great experiences. To be honest, I never even watched the show. I was just working in kitchens. So when I got on, I was just excited to be there. But being a judge was cool, because I would judge from a place of empathy as I had been in their shoes not so long ago. I learned a lot [as a contestant] because I was a sponge and I was so young. Plus, I was cooking for people I looked up to my entire life and I got honest feedback, which you don't really get elsewhere.
Onwuachi is opening a new restaurant in Washington DC called Dōgon
What are you most excited about on the menu at Tatiana?
Honestly, the halal cart chicken. It’s really good. We take a whole chicken and brine it for a couple of days, add shawarma spices, then we roast it low and slow and pair it with turmeric-scented rice and braised lamb and a bunch of pickled vegetables and lots of torn, fresh herbs. It's a really beautiful dish. It represents New York City, and not the Ritz Carlton New York City. This is the New York City that feeds New Yorkers.
Where do you eat in New York when you're not in your restaurant?
At the Ritz Carlton! No, honestly, I eat at the halal carts a lot. I like this restaurant called Fish Cheeks, it’s a Thai restaurant, but I don't go out to eat that often. Jōji for sushi is really good too. But I like to cook at home.
From Top Chef to Tatiana, Onwuachi has had quite the journey
What’s the dish you make when you’re tired?
The frozen White Castle burgers. They taste like you're in the restaurant. It's pretty incredible. If you haven’t tried them, just do it. It'll bring back some great memories.
What's next for you?
I'm opening a restaurant in Washington D.C. called Dōgon. It's on L’Enfant Plaza. L’Enfant was hired by George Washington to create the city of D.C. in a European fashion, with roundabouts and the street layouts. I did some research and there was a guy named Benjamin Banneker that worked with him. He was hired to survey the city and create borders. I thought, this guy must be really f**king good at his job if he was a black man hired by George Washington.
How did he learn to do this and why was he so esteemed? He mapped it with the stars. His grandfather was captured from the Dōgon tribe in Mali – they were a tribe before colonisation. Africa was tribal: you had people that were warriors, people that were politicians, scientists, astronomists, astrologers… and that’s what the Dōgon tribe was: astrologers. So he learned through his lineage passed down to him. We wouldn’t have a capital of the United States of America without West African science. I thought that was really special, so I want to tell that story through food.
The list of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2024, sponsored by S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna, was announced at a live awards ceremony on Wednesday 5 June from Las Vegas. To stay up to date with the latest news, follow us on Instagram, Facebook, X and YouTube, and sign up to our newsletter.
