Kwame Onwuachi is a James Beard Award-winning chef, and author of the critically acclaimed memoir “Notes from a Young Black Chef,” which is being turned into a feature film by A24. Kwame’s resume is incomparable: he has been named one of Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs, Esquire Magazine’s 2019 Chef of the Year, and is a 30 Under 30 honoree by both Zagat and Forbes. He’s also been featured on Time’s 100 Next List and has been named the most important Chef in America by the San Francisco Chronicle.
Kwame was raised in New York City, Nigeria, and Louisiana. Onwuachi was first exposed to cooking by his mother, in the family’s modest Bronx apartment, and he took that spark of passion and turned it into a career. From to
Kwame Onwuachi is a James Beard Award-winning chef, and author of the critically acclaimed memoir “Notes from a Young Black Chef,” which is being turned into a feature film by A24. Kwame’s resume is incomparable: he has been named one of Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs, Esquire Magazine’s 2019 Chef of the Year, and is a 30 Under 30 honoree by both Zagat and Forbes. He’s also been featured on Time’s 100 Next List and has been named the most important Chef in America by the San Francisco Chronicle.
Kwame was raised in New York City, Nigeria, and Louisiana. Onwuachi was first exposed to cooking by his mother, in the family’s modest Bronx apartment, and he took that spark of passion and turned it into a career. From toiling in the bowels of oil cleanup ships to working at some of the best restaurants in the world, he has quite a dynamic collection of skills and experiences. Onwuachi trained at the Culinary Institute of America in New York City and has opened five restaurants before turning thirty; including the groundbreaking Afro-Caribbean restaurant, Kith/Kin, in Washington, D.C.
Kwame appeared as a judge on season 18 of Top Chef in April 2021. He first appeared as a contestant on the show in season 13.
Kwame currently serves as Food & Wine’s executive producer. In this newly appointed role, Kwame will collaborate on big brand moments and events, including the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, where he'll host cooking demonstrations and events and also serve in a new role as F&W Pro ambassador to the hospitality industry. Kwame will also focus his efforts on expanding Food & Wine’s Best New Chef Mentorship program. In August 2021, he hosted “The Family Reunion presented by Kwame Onwuachi,” a multi-day event that took place in Middleburg, Virginia that celebrated diversity in the hospitality community. In September 2021, Onwuachi had the esteemed privilege of hosting the James Beard Awards in Chicago, Illinois.
