"My journey has really been following the path throughout the African diaspora, on five continents, chasing the knowledge of essentially how through slavery, Africa changed the global culinary conversation." Alexander Smalls
Alexander Smalls began his illustrious career as a restaurateur in the nineties and furthered my appreciation for low-country cuisine when he opened Café Beulah, his first restaurant with its butter-toned walls displaying framed sepia-toned family photos. That's how I remember that room, it was elegant and it was beautiful. Alexander, of course, was an immaculate host.
Prior to his restaurant career, after starring in Porgy and Bess performing at the Houston Grand Opera, where the production and Mr. Smalls won a Tony and a Grammy, he reluctantly left that stage telling the New York Times in 2020, "an operatic career was my dream, but I was not able to break that glass ceiling as an African American male."
Alexander reinvented himself as a chef, restaurateur, and cookbook author, winning a James Beard Award for Between Harlem and Heaven. Several restaurants followed, including Minton's and The Cecil in Harlem, created with the rising culinary talent JJ Johnson. Using African inspiration to create a global table, the restaurant was crowned Esquire Magazine's "Best New Restaurant of the Year" in 2014.
Inspired by his world travels tracing the African diaspora's cooking techniques and culinary foodways, Alexander's newest venture is Alkebulan, the first dining hall in the world showcasing and celebrating African food. With locations in Dubai and London, he plans to bring the concept to multiple cities.
Please join me, your host, Brad Johnson, in welcoming Alexander, who has emerged as one of the most important voices in the African-American culinary journey, to Corner Table Talk.
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Theme Music: Bryce Vine
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