Kwame Onwuachi: Award-Winning Chef + Author

Raised in the Bronx, Nigeria, and Louisiana, chef Kwame Onwuachi grew up surrounded by cooking. During episode 101, Kwame talks about how that exposure changed the course of his life, and ultimately saved him. Many people know Kwame as one-time contestant on Bravo’s Top Chef, season 13 California, and as a current judge on the award-winning cooking competition show that’s inspired many copycats, and has made the culinary life mainstream. Kwame documented his riveting journey to food innovator and one-to-watch chef in his memoir paired with recipes, Notes from a Young Black Chef, which we discuss in great detail here. His multi-layered path, peppered with inspiring and difficult moments alike, is set to be turned into a feature film by A24, and Kwame shares the inside scoop on all of it. The James Beard Award-winning chef discusses the duality of his life experiences, the push and pull aspect of his personality, his time as a drug dealer, and the pivotal moment involving Barack Obama and a hangover that shifted his focus to cooking. We talk about being an enigma, needing to get big-time creative as a cook on a ship, his entry into the Culinary Institute of America, some of his jarring experiences of racism, the many things that have contributed to his success, the many nuances that mark his cuisine, and his powerful choice to look at potential experiences as having the best possible outcomes. At one point a wardrobe stylist for Top Chef, Tamara talks to Kwame about exactly why he treasures his unique Top Chef  family and experience. Listen in to hear the amazing story of Kwame Onwuachi, a picture of a modern entrepreneur and visionary---one who opened five restaurants before the age of thirty. You'll hear about his relationship with his creativity, prioritizing his work over his personal life, what fame is like, his longtime love of style and how it’s evolved, his My America book of recipes that will allow fans and readers to taste his life story, his intimate vision for his next restaurant venture, and his Obsixed list of current obsessions that include some insider food favorites and a nail polish collection you might have seen him rocking on TC the other day, all that you can discover and shop here:

• Notes from a Young Black Chef: A Memoir
• My America: Recipes from a Young Black Chef: A Cookbook
• ORLY Breathable x KWAME nail polish in 'Eggplant' 
• ORLY Breathable x KWAME nail polish in 'Chef's Kiss'
• ORLY Breathable x KWAME nail polish in 'Sauté' 
• Orion Turtle Chips
• Guided meditations from Deepak Chopra

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