These Chefs Are Looking to Fix the Diversity Problem in America’s Restaurant Industry

Most of us can name five executive chefs. Honestly, most of us can probably name 10. But what about an African American executive chef? Did you say Marcus Samuelsson? Okay, name another.

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It’s not a trick question. Because while chefs across the country have been pushed into celebrity (if not rock star) status thanks to Netflix documentaries and Food Network competitions, they all share one thing in common: They are predominantly white.

So, where are all the black chefs?

That’s the question that Soul Food Sessions, a Charlotte based non-profit, was founded on just last year. Today, it’s the driving factor behind their mission: to not only increase visibility for minority chefs, but to provide a network for young people of color to break into the culinary world.

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And while their mission started in Charlotte, thanks to a partnership with Coca-Cola Consolidated, they are about to expand into three other cities along the East Coast in 2018. They will partner with a local chef to develop unique menus for intimate pop-up dinners in Charlotte, Charleston, Baltimore, and Washington DC. Along the way, they plan to offer more than $10,000 in scholarships to aspiring chefs across each city.

The expanded Soul Food Sessions tour, called “The Table Is Set: A Four-City Tour Served With A Coke” is set to kick off with a reunion dinner in Charlotte June 19, where each of the five founding chefs will again prepare a meal together — but this time, they’ll be awarding scholarships to students at Johnson & Wales University.

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It Started with a Single Pop-Up Dinner

For Barnes, Soul Food Sessions came out of simple frustration. Barnes is the co-owner and chef behind What The Fries, a Charlotte-based food truck that offers loaded french fries and unique burgers, a venture he runs with Chef Greg Williams, another founding member of Soul Food Sessions. While his current focus is on his food truck, Barnes is a trained chef. He received his culinary arts degree from Johnson & Wales University, and worked in not only traditional restaurants, but in fine dining establishments as well. However, when he approached other chefs in Charlotte about working with him on a pop-up dinner, he was often declined.

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Collier hosted that first dinner at his restaurant, The Yolk, a brunch spot he runs with his wife, Subrina in October 2016. Barnes, Williams, and the Colliers worked with local pastry chef Jamie Suddoth and Chef Michael Bowling, a private chef in the Charlotte area, to create a five-course dinner that played on soul food stereotypes, or traditional dishes — like fried chicken skins with a watermelon hot sauce, or a pound cake with caramelized butternut squash ribbons. They only offered 45 tickets to that initial “Soul Food Session.” It sold out — and the guests gave a standing ovation at the close of service.

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That one dinner spread into several over the course of 2017, featuring everything from traditional African recipes to showcasing student chefs at Johnson & Wales.

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So, Where Are All The Black Chefs?

The number of black chefs across the country has grown in recent years, but still only 16% of chefs in America are African American, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. And while African Americans account for nearly 14% of all hourly restaurant employees, only 9.5% of restaurant managers are black.

All of the founding members of Soul Food Sessions said these numbers need to change.

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When we asked the Soul Food Sessions founders why these statistics were so low, their answers varied. For some, they pointed to a lack of publicity and a lack of access to PR and marketing firms to get them that publicity. Others looked to the unfortunate tendency for people to only hire employees who look like them. A few mentioned that because it’s so rare to see a black chef, aspiring young people may not be encouraged to pursue this field. Then, there is the simple lack of access to financial capital for those chefs looking to open their own kitchens.

According to research from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency, minority business owners are more likely to pay a higher interest rate on loans than their white counterparts, more likely to be denied credit, and less likely to apply for a business loan in the first place — out of fear that their application will be denied.

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The Issue with “Soul Food”

When you think about soul food, you probably don’t think about fine dining. Things like macaroni and cheese, fried chicken, collard greens — most people think these dishes are reserved for home kitchens, backyard barbecues … not places with white napkins and three different kinds of forks.

While non-minority chefs are usually granted the public’s permission to be fluid with their cuisine, especially in the fine-dining space, black chefs are typically pigeonholed into soul food — whether that’s their passion or not. {snip}

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It’s no surprise that black chefs would have an aversion to cooking traditional soul food. Even Edouardo Jordan, one of the best chefs in the country right now, first opened Salare in Seattle, an Italian restaurant, before he turned his focus to JuneBaby, a Southern restaurant where he wanted to showcase Southern cooking “from a black chef’s perspective.” That’s because it’s a cuisine surrounded in conflict — from slavery to long-standing racist stereotypes about fried chicken.

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Chef Kevin Mitchell, a culinary historian and the first black chef to teach at the Culinary Institute of Charleston, will join the chefs when they come to Charleston this year. Southern cooking, and its history, are his expertise. His master’s thesis focused on telling the story of enslaved cooks, the recipes they spearheaded, and the history of black chefs in America.

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A Path for the Future

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Each of the upcoming events will be small, with only about 100 tickets available. Because of that, the organization has also created a podcast, Stories from the Soul, which will discuss similar issues and be hosted by celebrity chef Gina Neely. That way, more people can hear the stories of black chefs around the country, as well as challenges in other cities, and pledge their support — wherever they are located.

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