His Cooking Tells His Story

Kwame Onwuachi talks about how he created the best new restaurant in New York -- and how he became a chef in the first place

We’ve been dealing with some awfully cold weather lately. So forgive me for dreaming about one of the places I was recently: the sunny Cayman Islands.

I am lucky. I go every year for the Cayman Cookout, an incredible event put on by my friend and my very first guest on Longer Tables, Chef Eric Ripert. 

This year, the weather was great. The food was AMAZING. But best of all were the people. I was lucky enough to tape this episode of Longer Tables on the beach with one of the hottest chefs in the country: Kwame Onwuachi.

You’ve probably heard of Kwame. He wrote a memoir: Notes from a Young Black Chef. And his restaurant, Tatiana, was recently named best in New York.

What you might not know about him is that he got his start selling candy on the New York City subway. And that his first job as a head chef was on a ship cleaning up after the Deep Sea Horizon oil spill. AND that he’s got a new restaurant coming this year…you’ll have to listen to find out where.