Notes from a Young Black Chef

Content Warning: This section references emotional and physical child abuse and drug use.

Kwame Onwuachi is a restaurateur and a James Beard Award–winning chef. Onwuachi was raised in the Bronx by his mother, a caterer who taught Onwuachi to fall in love with cooking from an early age. As a boy, Onwuachi struggled with his father’s abuse and his family’s financial stress. He was sent to his grandfather in Nigeria for two years to learn to be more respectful. When he returned to the United States, he tested into a gifted charter school. However, his behavior continued to create problems, and Onwuachi was expelled from several schools. After graduation, he attended the University of Bridgeport before expulsion for dealing drugs on campus. Onwuachi descended into a life of drugs and partying before waking up one day and deciding to cook a meal; this small act changed his trajectory forever.

In 2010, Onwuachi moved to Baton Rouge and worked as a cook on a ship for workers cleaning up a major oil spill. His time on the ship awakened his love of cooking; he was amazed at how the food he cooked helped the ship workers feel connected to home. He moved to New York City and started a catering business called Coterie Catering.