- 22 hours ago
Chef Kwame Onwuachi sits down with his mom and sister in a fireside chat.
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00:00You
00:04Clap it up for chef Kwame
00:06Yeah, he's gonna share the joys of cooking with his family his mom Jewel Robinson is here as well as his sister
00:13Tatiana steed and they are gonna do some family recipes, so I am so excited give it up for chef Kwame
00:30Yeah
00:42It's a kind of magic
00:48Magic
00:50Shout out to coca-cola for putting this together. Let's give it up for coca-cola. Everybody's sipping some coke
01:00Clap your hands
01:02So today, you know we gathered for essence fest right like
01:07Isn't it amazing and it's the first time that we're back
01:11After a couple years, so I thought it would be weird if I didn't bring my family along with me
01:17So the people that have made me into the man that I am today
01:23We'll start with my sister Tatiana Steed
01:26She's a chef here in New Orleans has her own catering company and personal chef business
01:32We want to talk about your business a little bit Tatiana. I have a small catering business located here. It ain't small
01:39Because you just did a big contract the other day. All right, I have a huge catering
01:44Yes
01:46Here in New Orleans
01:48Servicing our community with meal preparations and any type of event specialties you need
01:55Especially our Creole food just like my mom has taught us
02:00So in the middle we have my mom jewel Robinson hello. Hello
02:04You know, she she had a catering company that she operated from the house
02:12That you know very much against the law. She made us work for her
02:16You know I was probably employee I was five you were ten and
02:20We had to help out to keep the lights on that's right and pay the bills. It was New York
02:25You've got everybody's got a work that's in the house
02:28Yes, exactly, so why don't you talk about that like started that catering company?
02:35What was that like because for me when I think my life is hard and I think like
02:40How can I do this? I think back to my mom having a business with two kids in the 90s in New York City and making a way
02:47So what was that thought process for you?
02:51Coming up with that well
02:53First it was my children, you know, I had to
02:58You know find a way to to make things work. I wanted to be there for them
03:04I didn't want to work a nine-to-five
03:07Where they would go and be with a babysitter and all that stuff. So I I thought in my
03:13Silly mind that I would start a business not realizing that you work harder
03:18For your own business than you do for someone else
03:23So but you know, I was able to sit
03:26Yeah, walk them to school and pick them up and take them on jobs
03:32We'll talk about like entrepreneurialism because that's a scary thing to jump into for anybody, right? Like just but especially like
03:38It was it was it was definitely high risk high reward. Oh, yeah, but like what where do you think you got that from that?
03:46Like let me just go out there and start this business. I don't care what happens
03:50You was it the drugs in the 90s or
03:54You literally it's all about survival, you know
04:01And so you just got to figure out how to survive how to make it work. I'm a go-getter
04:06I just go and I do things I think of things and then you know
04:10Do them, you know, and so some of them work out some of them don't and some of the jobs worked out and some of them didn't
04:17But you know you just you just got to make it work and if your dream is to ultimately be there for your children
04:24Then other things will happen as they are supposed to happen
04:28So yeah, but it's scary especially waiting for a check to come in and the light bill is due. Yeah
04:33Yeah, yeah, yeah, so Tatiana, how did you feel like?
04:38You know because my you know, she was working all the time. You were kind of like also my second mom
04:43Yeah, and but you also had to help out with that and how do you think that influenced your life from?
04:49Seeing that firsthand seeing a powerful black woman in the flesh every single day
04:54Working towards a goal. How do you think that's influenced your life?
04:57It made me strong
04:59It made me a strong black woman. I knew that I can do anything because my mom could do
05:06I've seen her do some of the craziest of things and I'm like how what what what's going on?
05:12Like how did you pull that off? But she pulls it off and so that let me know that I could do it no matter what?
05:19You know what obstacle
05:21You know
05:23Okay, so I'm the crier
05:25Hello, how are you?
05:27But no it it made me a really strong person like I couldn't know if I had another mom
05:34I don't think I could have been the person that I am now
05:38Oh
05:40That's cute
05:41That's sweet
05:42Okay, so let's throw in the third variable there you have you know
05:48The catering company that you're operating
05:51You know, you're young trying to figure it out and then you got
05:55A wild child
05:57Throw it in the mix so
05:59I know that people want to hear like what was what was that like growing up with me?
06:04Okay, so there was not a day that went by that there was not an adventure
06:10In my house of some sort it was like what is kwami going to get into today?
06:15What am I going to have to like try to troubleshoot so my mom doesn't yell at me like
06:20It was it was an adventure. It uh, it actually prepared me for my second child
06:25Because my second child is very much like him
06:29Madison raise your hand, please. Madison raise your hand. Everybody give it up for Madison. All right
06:33So you have any funny stories? Oh
06:41Um, we have a bunch of funny stories. Let's talk about when you wanted to melt
06:46M&M's in a pot. He's been cooking for a very long time. So he's been cooking forever
06:52I just want to do a little chocolate work, you know
06:55That's all he kept saying was I just I just wanted to dip some chocolate covered strawberries and I wanted to do something different
07:01And i'm like, but did you not smell the burning? Did you not want to call somebody?
07:06And he's like, no, I just wanted to try it myself
07:10So at that point we knew we just had to let him try things after the after the fire department
07:15Okay, after the fire department. Thank god. My mother always makes sure we have fire extinguishers to this day
07:21She brought one to my house
07:23Okay, and sidebar kwami let the fire extinguisher out in his bedroom
07:29Oh, yeah all over the whole entire bedroom
07:33Have you ever seen a fire extinguisher go off in real life?
07:35Have y'all seen that before because I have and it's pretty amazing and I wanted to see what it looked like at a young age
07:42Oh, that was fun to clean up that was real fun to clean up
07:45I actually didn't know about it until way after it happened. So Tatiana cleaned it up kwami
07:51Didn't get in trouble, but we had an empty fire extinguisher. Yeah, so I had to go and buy another one
07:55Yeah, and that's that
07:59All right, so
08:01You started this catering company in
08:03the 90s
08:05How do you feel that food has changed in that period of time since then till now in the terms of like?
08:13Chefs of color like actually like stepping into their own getting the recognition that they deserve and
08:20even the word chef being
08:22um absorbed by so many different people and and people getting the credit that
08:27That that they do deserve well
08:30It's been a long road for people of color
08:35especially women
08:37um
08:37I was executive chef of one of the largest catering companies here, but rarely acknowledged
08:44um
08:44and so here in new orleans because I live in new orleans and
08:48And um, you know
08:50um, you know back then
08:52it was just
08:54um
08:56People trusting you to do their to to cater but never really acknowledging you for what you did
09:05um
09:05You know, and so now we're shifting it's shifting rap rapidly
09:10um
09:11To a better place for
09:14Women of color especially in in the kitchen, you know often overlooked
09:20um, you know if if a vendor would come
09:23into the
09:24Kitchen, uh, and someone would point to the chef me, you know, they would be like oh
09:32Where's the chef?
09:33You know and uh, you know just
09:36Those kinds of things especially, uh, you know in the south. I'm not sure about what happens up north. I haven't been there in a long time, but
09:45It's a rough thing for us, but it is getting a lot better
09:50The tides are turning and we're getting not acknowledged
09:54Yeah, I love that
09:58And what how do you feel about that tatiana?
10:00I I feel very much the same way, you know
10:03I've watched mommy come from, you know, trying to get her name and in many magazines
10:09um, just to be acknowledged as a caterer
10:13to
10:14Women all over the world and the hospitality industry, you know striving and thriving and and being in their own
10:23And then what food means to them you're not what
10:26Somebody said hey, here's the recipe. This is how we're supposed to make it. I want you to make it this way
10:33No, we are making it. We have our recipes. They're printed, you know
10:38Our names are there now that didn't happen when I was a kid
10:42I didn't see much of that besides my own mother's name being printed, you know in magazines
10:47But I know what she had to go through just to get her name there
10:52Yeah, you know
10:53Well, the times are changing which is great. I mean, this is a
10:58Testament to that in itself, you know that we're here and we're able to talk about these things on a stage and we have our own platform
11:05I think with
11:08Platforms, you know comes responsibility and you know, you definitely need to advocate for something
11:16Um, for me, it's like childhood hunger, you know, yeah
11:21Um, we grew up it was rough
11:24And there's a lot of children that go to bed hungry at night here in america, which is like kind of ridiculous when it's the largest financial
11:34Champion like of the world
11:36So
11:37What do you think we can do to to make things better for the next generation?
11:42We're in a good place now, but how can we continue to push that envelope?
11:47Well, I
11:47I think we
11:49Really need to uh focus in on uh food
11:53um
11:53Healthy foods, you know, we're uh
11:56Like for instance, I used to serve you guys, uh, you know chef bar or d or something like that and uh, you know
12:03uh, when I was
12:06Trying to just get a meal out
12:08Which is delicious by the way
12:09I would I would never do that now and craft mac and cheese
12:13I would never do that knowing what I know about food and what it does to your body and
12:19What you're putting in your body, you know, um, I think it's important that we continue to
12:27Tell the children you know about eating habits. They you know all kinds of health issues comes of that
12:33So I think it's important that we go forward and try to teach kids how to eat properly
12:41I agree. I mean, I think there's there's more to
12:44To that as well because a lot of the things that are are killing us
12:49um
12:52We're getting messages from people that are supposed to be helping us. Yes, you know like the american cancer society and
12:58um, you know
13:00The breast cancer society a lot of these things are funded by the very same things that are are poisoning our bodies like dairy
13:08Like meat and even the the food pyramid that's in a lot of our children's schools
13:13Those things are also funded by it's not accurate
13:17It's not it's funded by people that are deceiving us for capitalism
13:21Um, so I think there's a greater a deeper dive that we need to do
13:26Um, and it's it's educating our kids on on cuisine
13:29But also like making sure that they're understanding where their information comes from as as a whole
13:34I think showing them how to grow their food helps also
13:39Because that's something that you know, we grew up with that grandma cassie had a garden. We were in the garden
13:46We pulled our fruits and vegetables
13:48The kids don't know that and a lot of the chemicals that are put on the vegetables are not good
13:54So if we teach them how to grow their stuff and how to eat healthily
14:00It could it will help and it will you know not alleviate but start
14:06the process
14:08absolutely
14:10all right, so
14:11moving on to a lighter subject
14:13um, do you all watch top chef?
14:15I mean occasionally. I wasn't talking to y'all when my son is on top chef
14:21I watch top chef. No, do y'all watch top chef?
14:25Yeah, so how did it feel seeing me on top chef?
14:29after all these years after
14:31getting suspended and expelled from so many schools and
14:35Finally, it was worth it at the end of the day all the prayers all the prayers were answered
14:41But listen, if you were watching top chef at my house, you could only
14:48Talk during the commercials and if you talked you had to leave the room
14:54That's a real fan right there. That's that's no, it is
14:56It really is
14:58The kids almost got put out
15:00What would it what was it like, you know first seeing that and first you know knowing where we come from and knowing like how hard
15:05I've worked for everything like how did that feel?
15:08um, or understanding the recognition that I've been getting let's start with you mom so
15:15First of all, you're you're just my son
15:19So all the other things that happen i'm like oh
15:23wait, he's a celebrity
15:27I'm like no, he's just kwami. He's just my son
15:30Um, but you know, it's it's um, it's almost like an out-of-body experience, you know, it's like i'm looking down
15:42I'm looking at you and you're just doing all these
15:46amazing things, you know, um
15:51It's just amazing. It's uh, you know, you're you're a groundbreaker. You're a chef-tivist chef-activist chef-tivist
15:59Chef-tivist, you know
16:01He advocates for so many things and you know, he's involved in so many
16:08uh endeavors, uh that that are helping everyone in the world like I mean or at least in the united states
16:16you know, um, just foraging through he was uh, he was on uh
16:21on the hill a couple weeks ago advocating more money for no kid hungry
16:27Talking to senator schumer and another senator, right?
16:31I can't remember the name but just advocating more money so that like during the summer kids can
16:37Eat at schools and the bill was passed and the bill was passed
16:41The bill was passed a couple days ago the bill passed. Yes, so you know those things are it's just very admirable
16:49I mean, I I don't even know how many words
16:51How many words I've gone through adjectives to describe what you're doing, you know, it's just amazing. Yeah
16:59You know, I remember all our conversations as a kid and it's like, oh, I'm going to be on stage
17:05I'm going to be on television. I'm going to change the world and I just remember looking at him and being like
17:11Yeah, you really are
17:13You're going to you're going to do something and then when you I knew it was coming and it was like I am so
17:21Incredibly proud of you
17:23Thank you
17:23Like that's the only word that I ever had to describe what's going on besides
17:29proud
17:30I am proud of every single I'm proud of the man that you grew up to be
17:34I'm proud of the person and that you are proud of the chef that you are
17:39I'm proud of you
17:41Thank you
17:43I'm proud of you, too
17:45I'm proud of you, too. You're killing it killing it
17:49All right, so let's go back kind of to the Bronx anybody here from New York
17:56I said anybody here from New York
17:58All right now we're in the motherfucking building. Okay, sorry, Coca-Cola for cursing
18:09What was it like in the Bronx? You know, I think it's such a cultural melting pot that people don't really understand
18:14uh
18:14That like I remember like just going to the park when we played and there was Albanians there's Puerto Ricans there was
18:23You know Vietnamese kids there's Chinese kids there's Philippine like
18:27Jewish like these were all of my friends and that definitely influenced the way that I cook just because
18:34Depending on whose house you went to you had a totally entire different meal
18:37Yeah, so what was it like growing up in the Bronx?
18:42Experiencing that well, you know, it was because we didn't really think of it like that
18:47It was just like our surroundings. We didn't it's not to you go to another place that you realize
18:52All the things you grew up with uh, all the cultures that you grew up with
18:56It definitely makes you a more diverse person because you can be in any dynamic and eat any type of food
19:04And all the food is amazing. It's so good. It's so so good
19:08But you know, it just gives you a different type of aspect of people
19:12Because this person doesn't do this thing
19:15But this person does and then it's different from how you were raised
19:19So you just adapt and you're like, oh, i'm at my friend's house. I'm going to eat pernil today
19:24Or i'm going to go have a greek salad today over here at my other friend's house or my other friends gonna teach me how to make lasagna
19:30You know, it it just builds your character as a chef because you've had all these different things all your life
19:40And then why don't you talk about like I remember I used to ask you to eat all these different types of cuisines when I was a kid
19:46So can you tell them some stories about me wanting to try sushi or liver and onions or anything?
19:54Every time we'd go to a restaurant Kwame was the last person to order because he couldn't figure out
20:01What he wanted he wanted to try something
20:04I literally would like look through the whole entire menu and pick something that he never had before
20:10And then he may or may not eat it
20:13Like the liver and onions that you
20:15Because well, she made me watch silence of the lambs
20:18This guy's eating liver and onions with a fine kianti sounds delicious to me
20:25Yes, and we figured it out. Yes, but that was always challenging going to a restaurant. It still is
20:31Actually now that he's a chef. He just orders everything on the menu and then whatever comes in he eats
20:36That's it. Yeah, so he doesn't have to sit and pick anything. You just like I'll have this this this is this
20:41And that's it it is it is nice going out now. It's nice going out now. Yeah, it is because we just eat everything
20:48Um, so I wanted to like before we get into a little Q&A. Do I want to ask some questions before we get out of here?
20:54Raise your hand. Yes. No. Yeah. Okay. We got at least one
20:58Okay
20:59I just wanted to say like when I think about
21:03People ask me what's my inspiration all the time
21:05Like why do I do what I do and it's really because of you all
21:10Because I want to make a way, you know, I want to create create a levity that we haven't felt before
21:17For we've been working
21:19Since forever
21:21And I think we get it in our head as especially as people of color that you know hard work equates
21:26You know growth or you know, you just got to keep working hard and you keep working hard
21:30And I think that was put into our mind a long time ago
21:33And it's not the truth, you know, we should be able to live freely and
21:38Live with ease. So you all are my inspiration. That's why I wanted to bring you up here
21:44And I just want to let you guys know that I live easy and live free
21:51Because Kwame allows me to live easy and free
21:54And you take care of your moms everybody out there right you get a chance
21:59Do we have any questions from the audience?
22:04Here I'll give you the microphone
22:10Hello Kwame this is my name is Nzinga and I saw you on Top Chef you represent it very well
22:17Thank you. That was um, that was MC Hammer was on that
22:22MC Hammer was on that season was it? Yes
22:24Yeah, I remember that. Yeah, I remember that episode. Yeah, I try to forget it all the time
22:27So I just want to know what you have going on now. What's what's your projects? Um
22:34What successful things do you have working? So I just dropped a book?
22:39My America it came out a couple weeks ago. It's recipes from a young black chef
22:44Thank you. Thank you. And it's my version of American cuisine. It wasn't all apple pie and roast beef
22:50It was oxtails and you know shrimp creole and curry goat
22:56Red velvet cake exactly she's read it. She's the only person in here that read the book great
23:00Thank you. Go make sure you go out and get it, please
23:02But um, but yeah, I have that I have a nail polish line that I dropped. I have
23:07uh, um an apron line with till it I I'm selling my mom spices as well with spiceology
23:14Um, so I have a bunch of things happening and I have my movie that's filming in in the fall
23:19So my first book was adapted by a 24 for a film
23:23starring Lakeith Stanfield as me, so so that's filming
23:27So you're gonna see all of our lives on the big screen
23:31You will see all of our lives on the big screen
23:34Yes, Tisha Campbell is playing my mom
23:38No, I'm joking
23:41Go ahead. Um, hello. My name is Julie Mason and I'm a culinary student in Ivy Tech in Muncie, Indiana
23:46Okay, give it up for her. Yeah, so my question is uh, when you when you're doing your various meals
23:53Um, what is your mindset when you're preparing the various meals?
23:58For for me like in the kitchen, it's a zen moment
24:01It's when I can forget all the things that like
24:04Is are going on in my life that I that may not be going well
24:09It's a moment that I really step into my element
24:12So so that's that's really what's going on when I cook it's it's methodical, but it's also just a feeling it's love
24:18it's just
24:21Cooking is such a selfless act when you really think about it, you know, it's one of the only art forms we ingest
24:25So if you're cooking for someone like I don't I make microwave popcorn for myself
24:31But for other people I make elaborate meals, so
24:35So yeah, great. Thank you. Thank you and keep going. I will thank you. We're proud of you
24:43You have a question? Oh, no
24:45Anyone else have a question? We have like a couple more minutes. I think they're kicking us out of here soon. Thank you
24:50Thank you
24:55Good afternoon
24:57My name is chef Brooks. I'm gonna be doing a cooking demo on Sunday, so I'm from St. Martin
25:02Hey, shout out to St. Martin in this
25:04So while I'm preparing our menu for Sunday, I kept thinking to myself
25:10I don't just want to be known as a chef that recreates menus like from other people and I always wondered like how can I go about like
25:17Like like in years to come or even after I pass for example people would be like this was created by chef Brooks
25:23So for you that is like far in your career as a chef
25:27like how do you go about like creating staples that is like from you personally that people are going to be like this came from you
25:33You didn't just copy like for example your mom's recipe or someone else's recipe as you go along
25:39Well, you got to get in a creative zone really to like create dishes that
25:43people aren't familiar with and also
25:48You have to be a little selfless in the way or like take your ego out of it because nothing is new under the sun
25:54All these ingredients have been here for thousands of years
25:57So like someone has put this and that together and you can't look at it like aha moment
26:02Like you just got to cook and let people define. What are your signature dishes?
26:07You can't say hello everyone. This is my signature dish now everyone fuck with this like
26:13They have to just really love it at the end of the day
26:16And that's how a signature dishes really really comes about so just continue cooking with love and you know
26:22Challenge yourself and not look at not look to others as like
26:26How can I beat them in that but look to yourself as how you can make a dish better every single time
26:31Hi, hi, I'm Karen, Chicago in the house
26:43Big fan, thank you
26:46Kind of question though. My mother was a caterer forever and cooks and we all cook but
26:51She never exactly gave you everything to a recipe so she would come and I'm like mom come to my house
26:58Make sweet potato pies and she would really go on my shelf and move stuff around like she use it
27:03And she really never did do you put everything in your
27:07In your recipe now we give recipes out you give it out. Yeah, because she would say what you say
27:12Just put a little love in it. Yeah, I think for for us like we're very like us like hospitable people
27:19I want everybody to eat well and like
27:22that's where
27:24That's where the ego comes out of it. It's like nothing is new under the sun so
27:29Here take this recipe so you can eat this all the time
27:34There's also a level of no one will cook something as good as you at the end of the day
27:38And if you can truly believe that then take my recipe I dare you
27:43Try it, you know
27:44That's how I feel when I give a recipe out because there are certain nuances that you can't put to paper
27:49Um, I remember when my sister gave me her first
27:53Like her cheesecake recipe the first time it took me four days to make this thing
27:57four days
27:59And it was all listed out but there's like nuances of like actually like
28:04um repeating a recipe and getting those reps in so yeah, I we give recipes out willingly it's not even a thing
28:11Yeah, our whole family does
28:13I think that uh
28:16Way back, you know people did not want to share recipes and then recipes die
28:21And then you know, so then we you know, we won't make the brownies as good as annie mae, you know
28:27Because because she never it's gone with her and so I think for us
28:32Because we recognize that we're willing to give the recipes actual what they really are
28:37My mom asked the same question. My mom's like, does he have everything in those recipes? I'm like, yes mom he does
28:46All right, we have one last question for for this this one. This is it. This is it. We're okay
28:54Can you stand up please you got to introduce yourself so my name is
28:59So hi, my name is madison
29:02I am really proud to see my uncle my grandmother and my mother
29:08Up here today when I first saw uncle kwami. I was like wow. This is actually my uncle
29:15I was way too shocked to know that was him
29:19Way too shocked my mom used to tell funny stories about a lot of times he got in trouble
29:26Like this one time he got hit in the back of his head with a phone
29:30Okay, ma'am
29:33Okay, is there a question?
29:36All right, thank you all so much
29:38For coming out really appreciate we had a really great time and we'll see you next time
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