Kwame Onwuachi

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Clay Williams

Kwame Onawuachi

Kwame Onwuachi first stepped on the national stage as a Top Chef contestant in 2015, and was named Rising Star Chef of the Year at the 2019 James Beard Foundation Awards. His acclaimed memoir, Notes from a Young Black Chef, told the story of how he got there, and has since been adapted for young readers. Now Onwuachi returns to share some of his culinary magic in the just-published cookbook My America: Recipes from a Young Black Chef; he will discuss the book at this free Wisconsin Book Festival talk.

media release: What is American food? In his first cookbook, Kwame Onwuachi (“the most important chef in America” —San Francisco Chronicle), the acclaimed author of Notes from a Young Black Chef, shares the dishes of his America; dishes that show the true diversity of American food. Featuring more than 125 recipes, My America is a celebration of the food of the African Diaspora, as handed down through Onwuachi’s own family history, spanning Nigeria to the Caribbean, the South to the Bronx, and beyond. From Nigerian Jollof, Puerto Rican Red Bean Sofrito, and Trinidadian Channa (Chickpea) Curry to Jambalaya, Baby Back Ribs, and Red Velvet Cake, these are global home recipes that represent the best of the patchwork that is American cuisine. Interwoven throughout the book are stories of Onwuachi’s travels, illuminating the connections between food and place, and food and culture. The result is a deeply personal tribute to the food of “a land that belongs to you and yours and to me and mine.”

Copies of My America will be distributed for free to all attendees. The event is free and open to the public.