A Little Respect for Black Chefs

[MarketStEl]

The November issue of Ebony magazine contains a short, well written essay by star chef Marcus Samuelsson that both argues that black culinarians deserve more notice and respect than they get and offers advice for blacks considering culinary careers.

Some of the points he makes, like the strong connections between African and Southern cuisine, are ones familar to many eGulleteers, culinary professionals and scholars. But he also celebrates some legendary black chefs from the past, like Edna Lewis, whose food made New York's Café Nicholson a high society favorite in the 1940s and 1950s, and tips his toque to some of his contemporaries (Cary Neff? You could knock me over with a feather. Not much was made about his ethnicity when he was a rising star in Philadelphia's restaurant community. He is now in Arizona).

Food Network-bashers get a little more ammo from Marvin Woods, host of Home Plate on the Turner South cable channel, who is quoted in the article:

"You have a major network that airs shows 24 hours a day, seven days a week for the past 13 years, and over the past 13 years has had only five or six hosts of color, and none of them were chefs. One of my goals is to break that glass ceiling. I feel like I'm the Spike Lee of the food industry. It all comes down to racism...."

Samuelsson goes on to suggest that blacks educate themselves about the world of food and its importance and expand their culinary horizons. "A Black restaurant should not only serve soul food," he writes. "And in order to do foods that come from other places, we have to expose ourselves." He then goes on to suggest ways to do so.

Unfortunately, you can't read the article online. Ebony only posts teasers from its stories on its Web site and urges visitors to go pick up the current issue to read the whole article. I'd urge you to do the same.

In the meantime, maybe we can talk about some of the subjects Samuelsson touches on. Could we imagine an American TV show with a lead character like that of the BBC sitcom "Chef!"? Must we rely on other British imports (coughAinsley Harriottcough) to provide black culinary role models (did I just write "Ainsley Harriott" and "role model" in the same sentence)? Are our outstanding black chefs worthy of no more than supporting roles on Iron Chef America and shows on regional cable networks? (So who's ready to sign Samuelsson for a show of his own?)

Your thoughts?

(Edited to more accurately describe the nature of the content on Ebony's Web site. The page linked above contains the first two pargraphs of Samuelsson's article, "Celebrating Black Culinarians.")

Edited October 12, 2006 by MarketStEl (log)

[KatieLoeb]

(Cary Neff?  You could knock me over with a feather. Not much was made about his ethnicity when he was a rising star in Philadelphia's restaurant community. He is now in Arizona).

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Sandy:

There are TWO Cary Neffs. The one in Philadelphia is most certainly not African American. They even did one of those "naked with a blender" ads together. You can draw whatever conclusions you wish as to who needed the bigger blender.

[russ parsons]

our fellow gulleteer michael ruhlman recently did a very nice story on the topic in the "other" times. the problem is: after samuelson, who? for whatever reason, there don't seem to be many black chefs cooking these days. (though as for the food network, cooking ability obviously wouldn't count for much.)

[NYC Mike]

Great topic start Sandy, although I wonder how much play it will get in the media and even here on EG.

It seems like the top two taboo topics of the food industry are racism (both African American and Hispanic) and pay scale. Most seem perfectly capable of ignoring both in favor of yummy pretty things.

-mike

Edited October 12, 2006 by NYC Mike (log)

[Carolyn Tillie]

I'm curious why the cough over Ainsley Harriott. I was told by a very reputable, known British food writer that he was pretty much maligned in the U.K. and I'm curious why.

He had a short-lived show here in the U.S. which I found engaging and informative (I still butterfly a leg-of-lamb and splinter with rosemary the way HE taught me).

Maybe he was TOO gregarious but I liked it...

[Pontormo]

Samuelsson's personal background is rather unusual and it was, after all, his success in presenting Scandinavian food so elegantly in an upscale restaurant that led to his ability to publish a cookbook on neglected African cuisine.

Here in D.C., we've got Warren Brown of Cake Love who has jumped rather quickly from Law to culinary entrepreneurship to a role on the Food Network. I should add that despite his decision to make pastry, he's developed a strong professional relationship with one of this area's major farmers markets and therefore all its affiliated local chefs plus Washington-type supporters.

Relevant to the discussion are matters of class, social status and the culinary hierarchies reflected in the recent list of Gourmet's Top 50 restaurant.

1) Samuelsson's European background & Brown's law degree give both men a kind of cache' (awkwardly put, I know).

2) While "foodies" (ick, but...) revere celebrity chefs, there are a lot of people who do not know who Thomas Keller is and do not respect cooking all that much. Deciding to attend the CIA does not mean what going to Harvard or Howard does and for many middle- or upper-class African-Americans it might seem to be a step down.

3) Cf. Number 1. Edna Lewis gained her stature in New York City. It seems that this was necessary before we decided to respect her grits, greens and pound cake. Why is every good restaurant on G's list an expensive, upscale establishment? What about the terrific Ethiopian or pilgrimage-worthy modest places in the South?

Edited October 12, 2006 by Pontormo (log)

[bethala]

one could spend hours on this, but i just want to get a couple of thoughts out; this is by no means a thorough discussion on my part.

first, the times recently did an article on black chefs that covers a lot of the questions posited here.

second, i think a lot of it has to do with history and education, as is discussed in the article. perhaps because of a history of working in the service industry (going back to the "service" of being slaves) and the attendant low status that came with that work, as education and more jobs became more available to blacks, it became less attractive to work in kitchens or even in the front of the house. conversely, over time, work in certain parts of the restaurant industry, has stealthily grown in status . mr. samuelsson has the advantage of having grown up in europe, where perhaps history didn't discourage him from pursuing a career in food service as much as it might a black living in america, much the same way that black caribbeans coming to this country don't feel the weight of african american history telling them they can't do things.

as for the soul food thing, i think that, to a certain extent, the audience, both black and white, has contributed to the notion that a black chef should limit himself to soul food, with limited expectations for black chefs: think people who might not have expected to see blacks play in sports that historically excluded balcks, like tennis or golf, or might expect a black to perform rap music but not classical. i think that has become less the case now, as stereotypes of blacks wane a bit each day.

finally, even more hidden/less lauded than blacks in the restaurant industry are Hispanics, who, very often underpaid, toil in kitchens preparing every imaginable cuisine. i mean how many unseen Hispanic kitchen workers must there be per one single doug rodriguez? that is perhaps a whole other thread, to which, again, one could post for hours and dissect from myriad angles.

Edited October 12, 2006 by bethala (log)

[chefzadi]

our fellow gulleteer michael ruhlman recently did a very nice story on the topic in the "other" times. the problem is: after samuelson, who? for whatever reason, there don't seem to be many black chefs cooking these days. (though as for the food network, cooking ability obviously wouldn't count for much.)

←

Come by to the school I teach at and you'll meet quite a few future chefs of African-American descent, from the continent and the diaspora. They come from all walks of life. There are instructors from the same backgrounds as well.

I started a thread here about African and African-American chefs a while back. I haven't had time to follow up with the leads I got. I think I will send chef Samuelsson an email about my experience with this and the Africans (all the diversity of people from this continent) that I know in the food industry. I suspect the scene will be very different in 5 years, in 10 years, in 15 years, etc...

ETA: same thing with Hispanics, Asians, women, etc...

Edited October 12, 2006 by chefzadi (log)

[NYC Mike]

1) Samuelsson's European background & Brown's law degree give both men a kind of cache' (awkwardly put, I know).

This is such a huge point Pontormo. Europe makes it hip, cool, acceptable and white. Spanish alla Adria or Andres is chic while Mexican is generally seen as a underpaid dishwasher, line cook or Rick Bayless (no offense to him, I think he is great although not mexican).

finally, even more hidden/less lauded than blacks in the restaurant industry are Hispanics, who, very often underpaid, toil in kitchens preparing every imaginable cuisine. i mean how many unseen Hispanic kitchen workers must there be per one single doug rodriguez? that is perhaps a whole other thread, to which, again, one could post for hours and dissect from myriad angles.

My biggest shock with all this is that there seems to be ZERO outrage and even less effort to change.

[ludja]

our fellow gulleteer michael ruhlman recently did a very nice story on the topic in the "other" times. the problem is: after samuelson, who? for whatever reason, there don't seem to be many black chefs cooking these days. (though as for the food network, cooking ability obviously wouldn't count for much.)

←

Come by to the school I teach at and you'll meet quite a few future chefs of African-American descent, from the continent and the diaspora. They come from all walks of life. There are instructors from the same backgrounds as well.

I started a thread here about African and African-American chefs a while back. I haven't had time to follow up with the leads I got. I think I will send chef Samuelsson an email about my experience with this and the Africans (all the diversity of people from this continent) that I know in the food industry. I suspect the scene will be very different in 5 years, in 10 years, in 15 years, etc...

ETA: same thing with Hispanics, Asians, women, etc...

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Good to hear; a healthy pipeline of people entering the field is mandatory for achieving some of the end results discussed by MarketStEl in his first post.

[russ parsons]

My biggest shock with all this is that there seems to be ZERO outrage and even less effort to change.

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as i recall michael's story, there were no structural impediments to blacks becoming chefs; it was more a matter of personal choice. perhaps everyone does not find the profession as glamorous as we do.

[Timh]

In my experience in a slew of professional kitchens from the midwest, to the northeast, to mid atlantic, and then the deep south, the call of racism I find ridiculous. While yes, the kitchens are full of Hispanics, Blacks, whatever, if anyone strives to ascend the ladder they most assuredly would have the opportunity I felt. But most just wanted to come in and do their job and hope for a raise each year. The professional kitchen is one place in my experience that one can acheive by virtue of hard work, skill, and dilligence. That there arent alot of faces of color on TV isnt the industry's fault, its because there are so few of color stepping up to the plate. I'd be interested to know the stats of how many people of color, hispanics, etc., even women , apply to positions in the upper tier of the restaurants in places like NY, SF, etc., for line positions, sous, etc.

Edited October 12, 2006 by Timh (log)

[Luckylies]

yes, the kitchens are full of Hispanics, Blacks, whatever, if anyone strives to ascend the ladder they most assuredly would have the opportunity I felt. But most just wanted to come in and do their job and hope for a raise each year.

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Yeah, whatever, all the same right...

So all Blacks, Hispanics, whatever just want to work and get more money, not fame, promotion, fortune, celebrity etc? What gives you this impression?

The professional kitchen is one place in my experience that one can acheive by virtue of hard work, skill, and dilligence.

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Yeah, professional kitchens are the picture of fairness and equal oppertunity. No really, If in YOUR PERCEPTION Blacks and Hispanics, and whatever, just wanted to go in and get the job done for more money, why would hard work, skill and dilligence matter at all- if THEY didn't want to move foreward. Saying someone works hard, but seems more than happy to pass on a promotion (other than more money. say) seems a bit nearsighted, no?

Why are hardworking people being passed up for promotions?

Rascism exists! Sometimes stepping up to the plate is just not enough- someones got to throw you a pitch.

[NYC Mike]

yes, the kitchens are full of Hispanics, Blacks, whatever, if anyone strives to ascend the ladder they most assuredly would have the opportunity I felt. But most just wanted to come in and do their job and hope for a raise each year.

←

Yeah, whatever, all the same right...

So all Blacks, Hispanics, whatever just want to work and get more money, not fame, promotion, fortune, celebrity etc? What gives you this impression?

The professional kitchen is one place in my experience that one can acheive by virtue of hard work, skill, and dilligence.

←

Yeah, professional kitchens are the picture of fairness and equal oppertunity. No really, If in YOUR PERCEPTION Blacks and Hispanics, and whatever, just wanted to go in and get the job done for more money, why would hard work, skill and dilligence matter at all- if THEY didn't want to move foreward. Saying someone works hard, but seems more than happy to pass on a promotion (other than more money. say) seems a bit nearsighted, no?

Why are hardworking people being passed up for promotions?

Rascism exists! Sometimes stepping up to the plate is just not enough- someones got to throw you a pitch.

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Very well said Lucky.

-Mike

[JPW]

(So who's ready to sign Samuelsson for a show of his own?)

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Ummm. How about Discovery Life which has been showing "Inner Chef" for about 6 months. Also shown there is License to Grill, hosted by Rob Rainford (sp?).

Interesting that a channel tha shows only 5 or 6 cooking shows has two hosted by African-Americans, while Food Network has how many????

Oh yeah. NONE

[kristin_71]

There is also a great piece with Marcus in the new Food and Wine.

[MarketStEl]

our fellow gulleteer michael ruhlman recently did a very nice story on the topic in the "other" times. the problem is: after samuelson, who? for whatever reason, there don't seem to be many black chefs cooking these days. (though as for the food network, cooking ability obviously wouldn't count for much.)

←

Come by to the school I teach at and you'll meet quite a few future chefs of African-American descent, from the continent and the diaspora. They come from all walks of life. There are instructors from the same backgrounds as well.

I started a thread here about African and African-American chefs a while back. I haven't had time to follow up with the leads I got. I think I will send chef Samuelsson an email about my experience with this and the Africans (all the diversity of people from this continent) that I know in the food industry. I suspect the scene will be very different in 5 years, in 10 years, in 15 years, etc...

ETA: same thing with Hispanics, Asians, women, etc...

←

I hope the two of you connect and have a productive exchange.

The subject of elitism does dovetail with this topic. I think it might be more accurate to call it classism, a bias expressed beautifully in a witticism I once heard:

"Any society that tolerates shoddy philosophy because philosophy is a noble calling, yet ignores excellence in plumbing because plumbing is a mere trade, will not long endure, for neither its theories nor its pipes will hold water."

Posts upthread wondering why all of the restaurants that make those "world's best" lists are haute cuisine places touch on this too. (One of the things I like about eGullet is that it has a relatively high proportion of that rare species, the democratic elitist--the person who appreciates the merits of traditions both "high" and "low," or "refined" and "common," and is willing to seek out and celebrate the best in each.)

Certainly a number of the black chefs Samuelsson mentioned in his article worked in popular, not high, food traditions. And the world of barbecue has its share of black legends who have gotten their due--my hometown's journey towards its present-day status as barbecue Mecca can be traced to a black migrant from the Deep South who opened what is acknowledged as Kansas City's first barbecue restaurant in the 1920s, and his spiritual descendant Ollie Gates has a reputation that extends well beyond Interstate 435, for instance. But it does appear, as Samuelsson's own rise indicates, that the world of so-called serious food writers/critics/connoisseurs won't really take you seriously unless you work in one of the Western European culinary traditions (Scandinavia being part of Western Europe for purposes of this argument).

chefzadi: You work in a notably multicultural milieu, even though your primary culinary tradition is that of North Africa. I'd venture that you are one of those exceptions that prove the rule.

[JohnL]

(So who's ready to sign Samuelsson for a show of his own?)

←

Ummm. How about Discovery Life which has been showing "Inner Chef" for about 6 months. Also shown there is License to Grill, hosted by Rob Rainford (sp?).

Interesting that a channel tha shows only 5 or 6 cooking shows has two hosted by African-Americans, while Food Network has how many????

Oh yeah. NONE

←

Al Roker

Sandra Pinkney

also the Food Network long ago often featured

the late (and great) Chef Patrick Clark.

there's also another host on currently whose name escapes me

as well as a number of others who have appeared on the Food Network

over the years.

The truth is less nefarious than some might believe but a couple of posters have touched

upon it.

How many African Americans have graduated one of the cooking schools that seem to turn out most of our successful chefs today?

How many have decided on a career path to being an executive chef?

How many are currently executive chef's

How many of those currently executive chefs have the personality and the originality to be featured on TV?

I believe they'll get there as the numbers increase.

By the way, how come not many Asians seem to be playing professional ice hockey these days?

It is nice to note as one poster does--that there are more and more African Americans enrolled in cooking school today--one would expect to see more running kitchens and eventually appearing in the media.

It is also nice to see someone like Marcus Samuelson (who lived next door to me not long ago) becoming a role model and taking a leadership role.

So let's think before we start bashing the Food Network or America or Europe or anyone.

Things are getting better all the time!

[Luckylies]

(So who's ready to sign Samuelsson for a show of his own?)

←

Ummm. How about Discovery Life which has been showing "Inner Chef" for about 6 months. Also shown there is License to Grill, hosted by Rob Rainford (sp?).

Interesting that a channel tha shows only 5 or 6 cooking shows has two hosted by African-Americans, while Food Network has how many????

Oh yeah. NONE

←

Al Roker

Sandra Pinkney

also the Food Network long ago often featured

the late (and great) Chef Patrick Clark.

there's also another host on currently whose name escapes me

as well as a number of others who have appeared on the Food Network

over the years.

The truth is less nefarious than some might believe but a couple of posters have touched

upon it.

How many African Americans have graduated one of the cooking schools that seem to turn out most of our successful chefs today?

How many have decided on a career path to being an executive chef?

How many are currently executive chef's

How many of those currently executive chefs have the personality and the originality to be featured on TV?

I believe they'll get there as the numbers increase.

By the way, how come not many Asians seem to be playing professional ice hockey these days?

It is nice to note as one poster does--that there are more and more African Americans enrolled in cooking school today--one would expect to see more running kitchens and eventually appearing in the media.

It is also nice to see someone like Marcus Samuelson (who lived next door to me not long ago) becoming a role model and taking a leadership role.

So let's think before we start bashing the Food Network or America or Europe or anyone.

Things are getting better all the time!

←

Executive chefs?? On the Food Network?? um, right. there are like three real chefs, and 1,000,000 personalities.

Also, I don't believe that culinary schools have turned out our most successful chefs today, they will've in the future, but for now, kitchen trained cooks certainly seem to be in the lead in terms of sucess (European schools aside)

[azlee]

(Cary Neff?  You could knock me over with a feather. Not much was made about his ethnicity when he was a rising star in Philadelphia's restaurant community. He is now in Arizona).

←

Sandy:

There are TWO Cary Neffs. The one in Philadelphia is most certainly not African American. They even did one of those "naked with a blender" ads together. You can draw whatever conclusions you wish as to who needed the bigger blender.

←

the cary neff to whom marcus referred was the executive chef at miraval spa in arizona. at the time when he was at miraval, neff was touted as oprah's favorite spa chef and miraval as her favorite spa. neff coined the term 'conscious cuisine' and created a spa menu for miraval that was healthful, low calorie and low fat, as well as, inventive, decadent, delicious, filling and had great variety. his book of spa cuisine recipes was featured on oprah. i believe he is now the executive chef at the la costa spa in california. my undertanding is that he started his culinary career in chicago.

[rjwong]

our fellow gulleteer michael ruhlman recently did a very nice story on the topic in the "other" times. the problem is: after samuelson, who? for whatever reason, there don't seem to be many black chefs cooking these days. (though as for the food network, cooking ability obviously wouldn't count for much.)

←

Robert Gadsby, Noé Restaurant at the Omni Hotel, downtown Los Angeles & Houston.

One of the best dinners I had this year was his "Outlaw Dinner" where the courses consisted of various "banned", "forbidden" or "illegal" ingredients. Very creative & innovative ...

[Luckylies]

http://www.alhockey.com/, http://www.beijinghockey.com/ http://www.hockeynightinasia.com/

Anyway,

Mikeb19 why do your four black friends represent the African American Zeitgeist? Nobody's focing affirmative action, some people just want EQUAL OPPERTUNITY.

like, people not making assumptions of the entire African diaspora-because they know this one guy who wan't really that serious about his success...

[robyn]

The November issue of Ebony magazine contains a short, well written essay by star chef Marcus Samuelsson that both argues that black culinarians deserve more notice and respect than they get and offers advice for blacks considering culinary careers.

Some of the points he makes, like the strong connections between African and Southern cuisine, are ones familar to many eGulleteers, culinary professionals and scholars.  But he also celebrates some legendary black chefs from the past, like Edna Lewis, whose food made New York's Café Nicholson a high society favorite in the 1940s and 1950s, and tips his toque to some of his contemporaries (Cary Neff?  You could knock me over with a feather. Not much was made about his ethnicity when he was a rising star in Philadelphia's restaurant community. He is now in Arizona).

Food Network-bashers get a little more ammo from Marvin Woods, host of Home Plate on the Turner South cable channel, who is quoted in the article:

"You have a major network that airs shows 24 hours a day, seven days a week for the past 13 years, and over the past 13 years has had only five or six hosts of color, and none of them were chefs. One of my goals is to break that glass ceiling. I feel like I'm the Spike Lee of the food industry. It all comes down to racism...."

Samuelsson goes on to suggest that blacks educate themselves about the world of food and its importance and expand their culinary horizons. "A Black restaurant should not only serve soul food," he writes. "And in order to do foods that come from other places, we have to expose ourselves." He then goes on to suggest ways to do so.

Unfortunately, you can't read the article online. Ebony only posts teasers from its stories on its Web site and urges visitors to go pick up the current issue to read the whole article. I'd urge you to do the same.

In the meantime, maybe we can talk about some of the subjects Samuelsson touches on. Could we imagine an American TV show with a lead character like that of the BBC sitcom "Chef!"? Must we rely on other British imports (coughAinsley Harriottcough) to provide black culinary role models (did I just write "Ainsley Harriott" and "role model" in the same sentence)? Are our outstanding black chefs worthy of no more than supporting roles on Iron Chef America and shows on regional cable networks? (So who's ready to sign Samuelsson for a show of his own?)

Your thoughts?

(Edited to more accurately describe the nature of the content on Ebony's Web site. The page linked above contains the first two pargraphs of Samuelsson's article, "Celebrating Black Culinarians.")

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I think you may be confusing chefs in real restaurants with "TV personalities".

I see some African Americans in some kitchens in some of my local dining places (they're places with open kitchens - so I can see who's doing what - and they definitely don't serve "soul food"). They're pretty high in the pecking order based on what I see them doing. I see African American servers in some pretty high end restaurants here too (try to find that in NYC). Perhaps it's because we have a large African American community here - they're reasonably hard-working - like most of the people in our community - and we have a tight labor market. If someone can do a job - he's welcome to it. I see pretty much the same thing in Atlanta (which is the largest city close to me). *My* major objection is the only place I see women is at the pastry chef stations!

As for "TV personality chefs" - who knows. Food Network and the like are trying to attract eyeballs - that's it. Particularly 25-45 year old white male eyeballs (which seem more valuable than 55-65 year old white female eyeballs - even though we - the latter - generally have a lot more disposable income than the former). Which means that their current shows don't do a thing for me (except get me to pay my cable company more to get extra channels to watch). Robyn

[azlee]

our fellow gulleteer michael ruhlman recently did a very nice story on the topic in the "other" times. the problem is: after samuelson, who? for whatever reason, there don't seem to be many black chefs cooking these days. (though as for the food network, cooking ability obviously wouldn't count for much.)

←

Come by to the school I teach at and you'll meet quite a few future chefs of African-American descent, from the continent and the diaspora. They come from all walks of life. There are instructors from the same backgrounds as well.

I started a thread here about African and African-American chefs a while back. I haven't had time to follow up with the leads I got. I think I will send chef Samuelsson an email about my experience with this and the Africans (all the diversity of people from this continent) that I know in the food industry. I suspect the scene will be very different in 5 years, in 10 years, in 15 years, etc...

ETA: same thing with Hispanics, Asians, women, etc...

←

Chef Zadi, a few more names of African American executive chefs currently working in NYC, for you:

Cheryl Smith

Herb Wilson

Keith Williams

[FistFullaRoux]

It's hard to make a blanket statement like "It all comes down to racism...." Sometimes, there is racism. Sometimes there is lack of opportunity. Sometimes there is lack of ambition. These same things were said about Cajuns not too many years ago. Sometimes the boss is an asshole just for the sake of it. Sometimes, it's for a reason. Usually, it's hard to tell what someone is thinking by their actions.

Let's not forget New Orleans, where probably half or better of the head chefs in the city are at least "other than white". I'd be interested to see what Food Network's target demographics are. "Other than white" may not be part of that target.

How many chefs, cooks, gourmets, food writers, and restaurant owners are on TV, regardless of heritage? Far less than 1%. If we were to sit down, I'm guessing we could come up with maybe 100 famous names that have more than regional success. For superstardom, the number is far fewer. I'm thinking no more than 15 that the general public has heard of. One would also think that if there were African-American chefs ready to step up to "food personality", Oprah would have been the first to pick them for their own show, correct?

Edited October 15, 2006 by FistFullaRoux (log)