Podcasts about shaw bijou

Hi there,Apologies for the silence last week! The COVID fairy finally pulled my card, and it knocked me (and my family) down for a number of days. We’re all recovering over here, and I’m excited to share this week’s conversation with you now! I hope you’ll forgive the delay. Read on for more on my recent chat with Kwame Onwuachi—and make sure you’re subscribed to our Substack to access exclusive recipes from Kwame’s My America later this week.–BrianEpisode 132: Kwame OnwuachiIt really does feel like we’re living in Kwame Onwuachi’s America.Industry folks run into him around every turn—he’s fresh off the high-profile hosting gig at Monday’s James Beard Awards, for one—and his voice and influence are becoming undeniably one of the most impactful. After opening five restaurants before turning 30, Kwame has earned accolades from nearly every major media outlet (James Beard Foundation’s Rising Star Chef, Food & Wine Best New Chef, Esquire Chef of the Year, Forbes 30 Under 30, the “most important chef in America” by the San Francisco Chronicle, and so on). Now, Kwame is an executive producer for Food & Wine magazine and is responsible for convening the upcoming 2nd Annual Family Reunion, a multi-day event that celebrates racial and ethnic diversity in hospitality.In Kwame’s first book, 2019’s Notes From A Young Black Chef written with Joshua David Stein, he chronicles his life from growing up in New York City, with extended stints in Louisiana and Nigeria, to the path that led him to his first restaurant, the Shaw Bijou. (And that memoir is now being made into a feature film by A24!)He’s followed it up with a new book—this time a cookbook, titled My America: Recipes from a Young Black Chef, and also co-authored by Stein.Part memoir, part cookbook, My America features recipes from Kwame’s culinary journey—from Suya (Nigerian BBQ) to Egusi Stew, a Nigerian recipe he grew up eating that’s thickened with egusi (melon seed).Recipes This Week:Paid subscribers will get access to two recipes from Kwame’s My America this week: Jamaican Beef Patties and Suya (“the grandfather of American BBQ”):Salt + Spine is supported by listeners like you. To get full access to our exclusive content and featured recipes, and support our work, consider becoming a paid subscriber.We’ve got a great show for you today: Kwame joined us to discuss his culinary career, his books, and of course, to play our signature culinary game. Thanks for joining us to #TalkCookbooks!–Brian, Clea, and the Salt + Spine team Get full access to Salt + Spine at saltandspine.substack.com/subscribe

When Kwame Onwuachi was 26 he had already experienced more career highs and lows than chefs twice his age. He worked in the top restaurants, competed on the TV series, “Top Chef,” and opened his own restaurant—The Shaw Bijou when he was 25.  The restaurant was one of the most anticipated openings in the country and it closed after 11 weeks. The press roasted the young chef. How did Kwame recover after such a public failure? In his new book, Notes from a Young Black Chef, Kwame talked about how he rebounded from that failure, and delved into his childhood. After the Shaw Bijou closed Kwame opened 3 more restaurants, Michelin rated, Kith and Kin  and two  Philly Wing Fry.. On May 6th he won the Rising Star Chef of the Year award by the James Beard Foundation. His book, Notes from a Young Black Chef  has received lots of praise, and is available wherever books are sold.

When we last left chef and memoirist Kwame Onwuachi, he had dived back into his catering business in New York City. Business was decent, but he’d begun to see holes in his game. "The food tasted good, but was it completely hot when it hit the table? I would roast the meat perfectly, but by the time I got to the table it'd be a little overcooked. The sauce that I thought would be really good, when I reduced it down, it was a little bitter. It was like these little things I didn't know what was going wrong, and I needed to get to the bottom of it. I needed to scratch that itch, and education was the next step for me." Onwuachi went to the CIA to hone his craft and then went on to extern and work at fine dining institutions like Per Se and Eleven Madison Park. But he ultimately found his own cooking identity through the now-defunct pop-up dinner company, Dinner Lab. "I cooked a dinner for it. It was a culmination of my life story. It was labeled Candy Bars to Michelin Stars. I cooked everything from the cheesecake [his sister's recipe] that I made to…the Butterfingers I sold on the subway (we did those as mignardise)…It was an anecdotal tale through the food of my life."
 Eventually, Onwuachi opened the high-end restaurant Shaw Bijou in Washington, DC. His inexperienced restaurateur partners told him money was no object; that, in fact, they didn't care about making money. Onwuachi naively believed them. "Yeah, it was like adding gas to a locomotive. I mean, we were adding coal. It was just like, keep going, keep going, we're powering the engine. I was so deep in it, there was so much going on. It was the first time dealing with a lot of press, and I was really, really young. I came from the South Bronx and I'm catapulted into the stratosphere of the dining culture across the country, and I was trying to just do anything to stay afloat really."
 The restaurant failed after less than six months, its demise hastened by a less-than-stellar review in The Washington Post.  "It was soul-crushing to read that," Onwuachi said. "I remember reading it in the back alley, and it was not a good review, but it also pushed me, you know? It pushed me to change some things up, switch some things around, get everybody excited again, and keep going. It wasn't like, ‘Okay, now we need to close.’ I was like, ‘Okay, we're gonna fix this. This is the first bite.’" But they couldn't fix it in time, because, as he put it, "We ran out of capital. That's why businesses close. That's the short answer."
 The last chapter of Onwuachi’s book, Notes From a Young Black Chef, is called "The Lesson." Why? "The lesson that I learned (from Shaw Bijou) is to keep going," he told me. "Just keep going. Not to stop, no matter what obstacles get in your way. If you have your mindset and you have goals in place, stick with those goals, figure out how to adapt, how to pivot, and continue moving."
 Kwame Onwuachi’s tale is as inspirational as it is cautionary. Catch it all in this week’s episode of Special Sauce. --- The full transcript for this episode can be found over here at Serious Eats: https://www.seriouseats.com/2019/04/special-sauce-kwame-onwuachi-part-2.html

Onwauchi is in the running for the 2019 James Beard Rising Star Chef of the Year. He narrates his own memoir that dishes on the restaurant industry as it weaves the tale of a his upbringing, his rise— including a stint on Top Chef—and the rapid fall of his restaurant Shaw Bijou. Now at New York’s Kith and Kin, Onwauchi delivers a compelling sense of emotion and passion with his performance. Published by Random House Audio. Read the full review of NOTES FROM A YOUNG BLACK CHEF at audiofilemagazine.com. For more free audiobook recommendations, sign up for AudioFile Magazine’s newsletter. On today’s episode are host Jo Reed and AudioFile Magazine Publisher Michele Cobb.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Top Chef contestant Kwame Onwuachi chronicles his journey from the mean streets of the South Bronx, to his exile to Nigeria, and his rise to chef and owner of an upscale restaurant, The Shaw Bijou. Joined by John Gomperts, president and CEO of America’s Promise Alliance, the duo uncovers the importance of second chances in in determining your success in life.

The Not Old - Better Show Interview series: Chef Kwame Onwuachi, Top Chef, & Guest Lecturer, Smithsonian Associates. As part of our Smithsonian Associates, Art of Living series, our guest today on the Not Old Better Show is chef Kwame Onwuachi.  Born in the Bronx and trained in classical French cuisine at the Culinary Institute of America, Kwame Onwuachi works as the Executive Chef of The Shaw Bijou in Washington, D.C. His interest in food was sparked by his mother who operated a catering company while he was growing up. Kwame started his own catering company at the age of 20 before working in some highly regarded restaurants including New York's Eleven Madison Park and Per Se. He has traveled the world learning different types of cuisines and cultures and worked on oil rigs, specifically “Deepwater Horizon,” which is a very interesting story! His philosophy on cooking can best be defined as telling a story through food. Kwame was also a contestant on Top Chef.  Give a listen to today's show, featuring a very interesting man, with a great story and a great future.   Please note:  Chef Kwame Onwuachi will be appearing at the Ripley Auditorium, Washington DC, Oct. 24, 2016.  However, the event is currently SOLD OUT.  If you are interested in being placed on the "waiting list," please call Smithsonian Associates: 202 633 3030

This week on The Main Course, hosts Alexes and Phil are joined in the studio by Matt Jacobson, executive director of The Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative (MLMC), and Chef Kwame Onwuachi, executive chef/owner of The Shaw Bijou, which will open in Washington, D.C. this year. Also crawling around in the studio today: a live new shell Maine lobster!