The Bronx native endured many trials and errors before launching the critically acclaimed Tatiana in Lincoln Center.
will be the first to tell you that he was a terrible barista. He could never get the latte art right when he manned the espresso machine at Craft, Tom Colicchio’s flagship Manhattan, the glitzy restaurant he opened in Lincoln Center’s David Geffen Hall in November, he expertly pulls an espresso—though he doesn’t bother to foam the milk, having yet to master the technique of drawing pretty designs in it.
“It directly correlated to my craft,” he says now. “I raised my own chickens and livestock. A deep respect I have for what we eat was birthed there, as well. Not everything comes in a cellophane package—there’s a life associated with it.” He has spoken of getting teary-eyed when, on his return to New York City, his mother took him to KFC and he contemplated the lives of birds destined for fast food.
What he calls his “come-to-Jesus moment” arrived after Barack Obama was elected president in 2008. Onwuachi was hungover from an epic bender but says, “It was a moment of clarity. Here was a Black man about to hold the highest office in the world. I realized I could do anything I put my mind to.” He flushed the drugs down the toilet, went out and bought ingredients for chicken curry, and made the decision to heed his calling.
“There’s something about him: When you grow up in the city, you have this grind,” says Kent, now chef-owner of, which operates Overstory and the two-Michelin-starred Saga. “He’s a young Black kid from the Bronx working in the fine-dining world. I love it—I want to give this guy as much support as I can. It’s not like he just rolled up. He hustled.
In November 2016, the Shaw Bijou arrived in Washington, D.C., with much hype. The spot was booked solid for months before opening. But the city wasn’t ready for a $185 15-course tasting menu from an untested chef. Onwuachi quickly slashed the price to $95, but Bijou shuttered after 10 weeks, an Icarus- esque fall. At 26, he was faced with the worst kind of flop: the public kind.
“I could definitely read between the lines of hate. It was loud and clear for me. But for sure, I just didn’t understand. It was like I had committed a crime, and I’m just cooking dinner,” says Onwuachi, who, seven years on, still speaks of the incident with a tone of incredulity.
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