Alexander Smalls - The Washington Post Article "Black restaurateurs have always had a tough road. The pandemic has made money even more scarce."

The Washington Post | August 19, 2020

“Coming into 2020, African American chefs were growing in numbers and expertise. Some were even creating a golden age of refined Black heritage cooking and excellence.

No longer held hostage by a hierarchy that dismissed the foodways of the African diaspora, such Black chefs as Mashama Bailey, Kwame Onwuachi, Adrienne Cheatham and Eric Adjepong have given themselves permission to move away from European gastronomy as the only acceptable fare worthy of being deemed ‘cuisine.’ At the same time, they have reengaged the history and traditions of the African American kitchen and reinvented the pride and dignity of family recipes through the lens of modern cooking.

The only category traditionally afforded such chefs has been so-called soul food, whose main requirement seems to be that the person behind the stove is Black. But these chefs and others like them have expanded the culinary narrative. This, of course, is very personal to me. I have built my career on the goal of returning African American food to its origins and its rightful place among the long-revered fine-dining cuisines exalted around the world. And I worry that the coronavirus pandemic could jeopardize this progress.”

Follow the link above to read the rest of Alexander Small’s thought-provoking article.

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