Around this time last year I had the honor of traveling to Jacksonville, Fl to be with the executive board of Culinary Wonders USA. Chef Erika Davis and the amazing men on her board were preparing for their first "Night on The Hill" wine dinner in support of the Rhoda L. Martin Cultural Heritage Center and I was had the pleasure of meeting and interviewing the chefs.
I wasn’t sure what I would leave with. Indeed, I wasn't sure what i would experience walking into a kitchen of over 100 years of culinary experience. I was nervous and anxious with so many thought and questions hoping for some insight and some better understanding of the qualities necessary to be a great chef, so I went into the kitchen with my camera, notebook, and pen ready to absorb whatever came my way.
From the gravitas that Chef Joe Randall lends to any room to the fun free spirit of Chef Amadeus I left the kitchen that day with a feeling of community, some very delicious food for thought, and a better insight into the minds of some of our country’s most brilliant and talented black chefs.
What follows are my thoughts on each of the chefs, a bit of the what they each had to say on the topic of being a black chef, and what i think each one lends to the examination of the qualities imperative to becoming a great chef.
I hope that you find these chefs as interesting as I did and that as they all get prepared for their second annual "Night on the Hill" dinner this January 17th, 2011 that you reach out for each of them and let them know they are supported and appreciated.
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