When Kwame Onwuachi is asked about his latest media endeavors, including executive producing for Food & Wine and cofounding production company Broken Whip, he says, “I feel like I’m a new cook in the kitchen.”
The kitchen, however, is where Onwuachi’s professional career began: The 2017 Forbes 30 Under 30 Food & Drink honoree worked his way through fine-dining restaurants including Per Se and Eleven Madison Park before opening up his own restaurant, The Shaw Bijou, and later helming the kitchen at Kith and Kin, the restaurant for which he earned his James Beard Award. He has also been a contestant, and later a judge, on Top Chef. His first book, Notes from a Young Black Chef: A Memoir, is being turned into a movie starring actor Lakeith Stanfield; his second, a cookbook, is currently in the works.
Onwuachi has made it a point in his career to keep an open mind, exploring any and all opportunities that come his way, so long as they align with his greater mission: advocating for the celebration and ubiquity of Black culture. “We shouldn’t just be happy to be here, it has to stick as well,” says Onwuachi. “Representation matters in terms of visibility. We need to be looked at [as being on] the upper echelon of arts.”
In August, for example, he will be hosting “The Family Reunion,” a multi-day event by Food & Wine in honor of Black and Brown professionals in the hospitality industry
As part of our “Ask The Expert” Instagram Live series, Onwuachi shared with Forbes how he’s advocating for greater representation in the media and culinary industries.
On The Significance of Black Professionals In Hospitality:
“You can’t talk about American cuisine without talking about West African cuisine. People of color built the restaurant industry. It was built on our backs. That needs to be celebrated. It’s unfortunate, we fought so hard to get out of kitchens, and now we’re fighting to get back in and get recognition. It’s going to take time, but it starts with true diversity, not just in the restaurant industry—we’re talking about food critics of color, we’re talking about editor-in-chiefs of color, we’re talking about more food writers of color. That’s what we need to be screaming from the mountaintops, so then we can get more investment. And that’s why I’m so passionate about it. It’s not an overnight thing, but the conversation needs to be started now. Hopefully, the future looks a little bit more like us.”
On The Culinary Historian Everyone Should Know:
“Jessica B. Harris. She’s written countless books on the Black experience, Africa to America. She has a show on Netflix now, so I think she won’t be under the radar anymore. But she’s a remarkable person, a wealth of knowledge. She has laid the groundwork for people like me to really thrive and to have the knowledge and vision. That’s someone I think we should be talking about a little more.”
On Turning His Book Into A Film:
“I don’t think it’s going to hit me until I’m like watching it, eating popcorn. It’s great to have the story adapted into a film because then it can touch more people. It’s going to show people a real story, because life is not a linear path, there are bumps in the road, there are ups. I think that’s why anxiety levels are through the roof, because people think that they should just be catapulting into this stratosphere of success. And it doesn’t happen that way. The movie depicts the Black experience in any profession; you can replace it with any other profession and the narrative will remain true.”
On What’s Next For His Career:
“I would like to have my own show or collection of shows in different spaces. I’m working on a scripted series…I always wanted to diversify my offerings to the world. I knew I wouldn’t just be one thing for the rest of my life.”