Chef Kwame Onwuachi

Chef Kwame Onwuachi ’13

Staying Connected to the CIA: An important part of your culinary journey
A 2013 graduate of The Culinary Institute of America, Kwame Onwuachi is already focused on how he can give back to the college that was the source of many personal and professional opportunities for him as a student and as an alumnus. “I am a reflection of the CIA and the CIA is a reflection of me,” said Onwuachi, who describes the CIA as fraternity or sorority where people understand each other. “The program gives you a lot of connections to chefs, restaurateurs…there’s a bond. I know what they do, and they know what I do…”

After graduation, Onwuachi worked in Eleven Madison Park and Per Se, then quickly opened and closed Shaw Bijou in Washington D.C. before becoming executive chef for Kith and Kin in 2017 where he explored Afro-Caribbean cuisines until he left in July 2020. By that time, Knopf had released Onwuachi’s memoir, Notes from a Young Black Chef, about his rise from poverty to executive chef, and Onwuachi turned his attention to his next exciting venture.
Read more about Onwuachi and his journey to the CIA and experiences after graduation

But while he was always looking forward, Onwuachi has a strong connection to his past, including his time as a student at the CIA. One of his strongest memories was from when he was a group leader; a position he found to be extremely challenging but also very rewarding for its leadership training. “You don’t have to go out into the industry and fail at managing a group of people because you’ve already managed a whole team,” Onwuachi said about his experience. “It’s a crash course in management.”
Another pivotal moment from his time at the CIA? “Receiving my knives,” Onwuachi said with a laugh. “Before you go to culinary school, you grow up not knowing what a good knife is…it’s just what’s in the knife block. When you get that knife set, you get everything you need to perform, the tools to be successful. I equate that to the CIA. The CIA is the knife roll for the world—you have the tools to do whatever you want.”

…on dreaming big and moving forward
Since graduation, Onwuachi has blazed a trail across the United States. Not only has he been named as the James Beard Foundation 2019 Rising Star Chef of the Year winner, and one of Food & Wine magazine’s Best New Chefs in 2019 and Esquire’s Chef of the Year for 2019, he’s gone from contestant to a judge on Top Chef; all of which has garnered the attention of many, so much so that his life is now being made into a movie, a film based on his memoirs.
But his journey has been filled with naysayers, people telling him he’s too young. He has been criticized for “trying” and reaching too far, but for him, thinking “average” means you’ll miss the extraordinary that life has to offer; and he has the projects to match his big vision. Onwuachi was recently named contributing Executive Producer for Food & Wine, with the announcement for the role stating that he is “redefining the role of a chef for the modern era.” As a part of his new position, Onwuachi is working on a multi-day event scheduled to take place in Middleburg, Virginia in August 2021 called The Family Reunion, celebrating diversity in the hospitality community.

…on staying connected with his alma mater
With his professional life full steam ahead, Onwuachi still keeps a pulse on what is happening at the CIA, staying connected by giving back through visits, speaking events, and a recent scholarship he has funded to help CIA students who, like he, need the financial support to dream big. When asked why he gives back to the college, Onwuachi said, “I think it’s important because, as chefs, we are starting to get platforms and we should do something with it…I had help back then, when I was a student, mentally with mentors and financially at the school. I had access to opportunities that the CIA afforded, direct access to the James Beard Foundation, it got me into the room. I wanted to help continue that flow…”
Onwuachi’s words and vision resonate with CIA students, many of whom have had challenging beginnings, making his mentorship to current students a very valuable and inspiring opportunity. Recently, Onwuachi created the Kwame Onwuachi ’13 Scholarship Fund at the CIA. The scholarship provides an opportunity for students to connect with Onwuachi on a personal level through both mentorship and his event, The Family Reunion.

“You have to give back when you’re in the position to, and even when you’re not. Service is the most important part of being a human being, and there is no higher level of service than feeding someone every day, and making sure they are good,” said Onwuachi. “And, with giving back to the school, regardless of your financial situation, give back with your time and knowledge…”
For those who know Onwuachi from his time as a student at the CIA, it’s been wonderful to see him go from a student volunteering at the annual CIA Leadership Awards to speaker and guest chef at the event, along with all of his culinary world success.
“It doesn’t surprise me that Kwame has been so active lending his assistance to activities which can provide opportunities for prospective students who may need financial help to attend the CIA,” said Chef Bruce Mattel, CIA Senior Associate Dean of Culinary Arts, who knew Onwuachi during his time as a student. “Kwame has always spoken freely of the mistakes that he made as a teenager and the failures that he had early in his career. He allows himself to be transparent and vulnerable because he knows that this behavior will give credibility to his cause and inspire others to rise above the obstacles and adversity that they will inevitably encounter at various points of their careers. “
“While Kwame attended the CIA, and certainly after graduation, he continuously advocated for and championed the African American culinary community first by becoming a widely known, successful Chef and entrepreneur and then by using his fame to showcase many of the innovative and talented African American Chefs of the past and present. It is my belief that Kwame will continue to advance the cuisines of the African diaspora, which in turn will create more opportunities for African American culinarians to pursue their dream of being able to provide delicious ancestral food to the mainstream public.”

…on dreaming big
Today, Onwuachi continues working on his dream of more diversity in the foodservice industry at the higher levels, “more dreamers in the houses of ‘yes’ instead of the houses of ‘no’,” with more investments in creating a bigger, more beautiful culinary world. Through determination and focus, he drives momentum to that goal through big-picture projects including his media company, Broken Whip Media, which helps to regain power for people of color when it comes to the narratives that get a wider audience.
The production company is “about breaking the cycle of creatives,” said Onwuachi, who described the compelling culinary-based content he is working on, from diving into what it is like to be a woman of color in the fine dining world to looking at what we can learn from the men and women who were in the industry 60 years ago during segregation.

For the students of the CIA, Onwuachi is also giving a platform, not only with his newly created scholarship but also the inspiration and vision that he is creating in the industry. His influence on current CIA students is not lost on Onwuachi, who can list the many individuals who were role models to him, inspiring him to break barriers and dream big during his time as a student and beyond.
“If your dreams don’t scare you, they aren’t big enough,” said Onwuachi. And while his road to “unthinkable” may not be the easier one to travel, Onwuachi has learned that it is one that creates the extraordinary and, for future chefs, new opportunities for a more diverse culinary landscape.