Step into any American kitchen, and you’ll find traces of these culinary giants seasoning your plate, whether you know it or not. From heirloom collards turned haute cuisine to the soulful spices that make fried chicken unforgettable, these 16 Black chefs have stirred the pot of American dining, reshaping what—and how—we eat. They’ve fought to preserve heritage while pushing boundaries, bringing West African grains, Creole comfort, and vegan soul into the spotlight. Their stories are as rich as their recipes, proving that American cuisine isn’t complete without the flavors and creativity these chefs champion every single day.
1. Marcus Samuelsson: Blending Global Flavors
Born in Ethiopia and raised in Sweden, Marcus Samuelsson brings a unique global perspective to American cuisine. His acclaimed Harlem restaurant, Red Rooster, celebrates the rich culinary heritage of Black America while incorporating Swedish and African influences.
Winning multiple James Beard Awards, Samuelsson has become one of America’s most recognizable chef personalities. His cookbook ‘The Soul of a New Cuisine’ introduced many Americans to authentic African flavors for the first time.
Beyond his restaurants, Samuelsson mentors young chefs of color and advocates for food justice in urban communities, creating pathways for the next generation of diverse culinary voices.
2. Edna Lewis: The Soul of Southern Cooking
Growing up in Freetown, Virginia—a community founded by freed slaves—Edna Lewis developed an intimate connection with seasonal ingredients and traditional cooking methods.
Her 1976 cookbook ‘The Taste of Country Cooking’ arrived at a time when French cuisine dominated fine dining, boldly asserting that Southern food deserved similar respect. Lewis cooked with remarkable precision and reverence for ingredients.
She rejected shortcuts and commercial products, insisting on methods like hand-beating biscuit dough and carefully selecting the freshest produce. Her farm-to-table philosophy predated the modern movement by decades, teaching Americans to honor the rhythms of nature through cooking.
3. Alexander Smalls: The Maestro of Afro-Asian-American Fusion
Few careers transition from Grammy-winning opera singer to revolutionary chef, but Alexander Smalls mastered both stages. After hanging up his performance tuxedo, he orchestrated a culinary movement blending African, Asian and American flavors at groundbreaking restaurants like Café Beulah and The Cecil.
His James Beard Award-winning cookbook ‘Between Harlem and Heaven’ documents this innovative fusion. Smalls’ genius lies in recognizing how African ingredients and techniques traveled globally through the diaspora, creating unexpected but historically grounded flavor combinations.
As a restaurateur, he deliberately created spaces where Black excellence in fine dining could flourish, mentoring countless chefs while elevating overlooked culinary traditions.
4. Carla Hall: Cooking with Love and Soul
Carla Hall’s journey from runway model to beloved culinary personality showcases her remarkable versatility and passion. First capturing hearts on ‘Top Chef’ with her ‘cooking with love’ philosophy, she later became a household name co-hosting ABC’s ‘The Chew,’ bringing soul food’s stories and techniques to millions of viewers.
Hall’s approach beautifully balances tradition and innovation. Her cookbooks, including ‘Carla Hall’s Soul Food,’ celebrate the vegetables and techniques at the heart of Black cooking while making these traditions accessible to home cooks of all backgrounds.
Her warm, infectious enthusiasm has made her an exceptional ambassador for soul food, teaching Americans that this cuisine represents both comfort and sophistication.
5. Lazarus Lynch: New Media Food Revolutionary
Vibrant and multitalented, Lazarus Lynch represents the future of food media. The self-described ‘Son of a Southern Chef’ (also the title of his cookbook) merges his father’s soul food legacy with contemporary flair and digital storytelling prowess across multiple platforms.
Lynch’s approach is refreshingly multidisciplinary. Beyond creating recipes, he incorporates music, fashion, and visual arts into his culinary expression, making food culture more accessible to younger generations through his YouTube channel and social media presence.
A two-time Chopped champion, Lynch uses his platform to celebrate Black food traditions while pushing boundaries. His colorful, joyful approach reminds us that preserving cultural foodways can be both reverent and revolutionary.
6. Bryant Terry: Afro-Vegan Visionary
James Beard Award-winning chef Bryant Terry transforms perceptions of both vegan cuisine and African diaspora foodways. His groundbreaking cookbooks, particularly ‘Afro-Vegan,’ reveal the plant-rich traditions within Black cooking that have been historically overlooked.
Terry’s approach extends beyond recipes into food justice advocacy. As the chef-in-residence at San Francisco’s Museum of the African Diaspora, he creates programming that examines the intersection of food, health, art, and social justice in Black communities.
Each of his recipes comes paired with music suggestions, book recommendations, or historical context, making meals into multisensory cultural experiences. Terry’s work reminds us that food choices connect to larger systems of sustainability and equity.
7. Patrick Clark: Fine Dining Trailblazer
Patrick Clark shattered glass ceilings in American fine dining during the 1980s and 90s. His mastery of French techniques, combined with subtle American and occasional African American influences, earned him a James Beard Award—making him one of the first Black chefs to receive this prestigious recognition.
At Tavern on the Green and The Hay-Adams Hotel, Clark proved that Black chefs belonged in America’s most elite kitchens. His contemporary American cuisine featured impeccable technique, seasonal ingredients, and refined presentation that influenced a generation of chefs.
Though his life was cut tragically short at age 42, Clark’s legacy lives on through the Patrick Clark Scholarship Fund, which continues supporting young culinary talents from underrepresented backgrounds.
8. Leah Chase: The Queen of Creole Cuisine
Leah Chase transformed Dooky Chase’s Restaurant from a sandwich shop into a New Orleans institution where Creole cuisine and civil rights history intersected. During segregation, her restaurant became one of the few places where Black and white leaders could meet, serving gumbo and strategizing for equality.
Her kitchen mastery extended from perfect fried chicken to complex Creole gumbos and elegant stuffed peppers. Chase famously told off President Obama for adding hot sauce to her gumbo before tasting it, demonstrating her commitment to culinary traditions.
Working well into her 90s, Chase mentored countless chefs while preserving dishes that might otherwise have been lost. Her restaurant’s walls, filled with African American art, reflected her belief that feeding both body and soul matters.
9. Robert W. Lee: The Culinary Educator
Robert W. Lee dedicated his career to ensuring Black culinary traditions received proper documentation and respect within professional education. As an influential culinary instructor, he emphasized technical excellence while highlighting African American contributions often omitted from standard curriculum.
Lee’s teaching methods combined classical training with historical context. Students learned not just how to execute techniques, but also about the Black chefs who developed and refined many American cooking methods.
Beyond the classroom, Lee consulted for food companies and mentored countless young chefs entering the industry. His patient guidance created pathways for Black culinary professionals during eras when representation was severely lacking, building a foundation for today’s more diverse kitchen leadership.
10. Nicole A. Taylor: Southern Storyteller Through Food
Nicole A. Taylor brings the complex narratives of Southern foodways to life through award-winning writing and recipes. Her cookbook ‘Watermelon and Red Birds’ made history as the first dedicated to Juneteenth celebrations, beautifully documenting Black culinary traditions and their modern expressions.
Growing up in Athens, Georgia, Taylor developed a nuanced understanding of Southern food that transcends stereotypes. Her work explores how migration patterns, economic factors, and cultural exchange shaped what we eat.
Taylor’s genius lies in connecting food to larger stories about identity and belonging. Through podcasts, articles, and recipes, she demonstrates how dishes carry history—revealing that what appears on our plates reflects both personal heritage and America’s complicated past.
11. Barbara “B.” Smith: The Lifestyle Pioneer
Barbara Smith—known affectionately as B. Smith—built an empire spanning restaurants, cookbooks, homeware collections, and television shows. Beginning her career as one of the first Black models on Mademoiselle’s cover, she later revolutionized how America viewed soul food by presenting it with elegance and sophistication.
Her Manhattan restaurant became legendary for its refined approach to classic dishes. Smith created spaces where Black excellence was celebrated, proving that soul food deserved white tablecloth treatment. Smith’s empire extended beyond food into a complete lifestyle brand.
Her television show, ‘B. Smith With Style,’ brought her warm hospitality and entertaining expertise to national audiences, breaking barriers for Black women in lifestyle media long before it became more common.
12. Deborah VanTrece: Soul Food Reimagined
Former flight attendant Deborah VanTrece traded the skies for the kitchen, bringing global inspiration to soul food classics at her acclaimed Atlanta restaurant, Twisted Soul Cookhouse & Pours. Her international travels inform unique creations like berbere-spiced fried chicken and smoked duck with collard greens.
VanTrece’s cooking defies rigid categorization. She honors traditional techniques while fearlessly incorporating flavors from around the world, reflecting the Black diaspora’s global influence and connections.
As an openly LGBTQ+ chef, VanTrece creates inclusive kitchen environments that welcome diverse talent. Her success demonstrates that soul food continues evolving—not as a static historical cuisine but as a living tradition capable of absorbing new influences while maintaining its essential character.
13. Kwame Onwuachi: Rising Star Reshaping Fine Dining
Kwame Onwuachi’s meteoric rise represents a new generation reimagining American cuisine. His cooking at restaurants like Kith/Kin and Tatiana draws from his Nigerian, Jamaican, and Creole heritage, creating dishes that tell his family’s migration story through flavor.
Winning the James Beard Rising Star Chef Award in 2019, Onwuachi brings personal narrative to fine dining. His memoir ‘Notes from a Young Black Chef’ candidly addresses the challenges faced by Black chefs in elite kitchens while celebrating the rich culinary traditions that shaped him.
Onwuachi’s appearance on ‘Top Chef’ and as a judge on food competition shows has increased visibility for chefs of color. His success proves that authentic cultural expression can thrive in fine dining when chefs cook from personal experience.
14. Pierre Thiam: West African Culinary Ambassador
Senegalese-born Pierre Thiam introduces Americans to the vibrant flavors of West Africa through his restaurants, cookbooks, and food company. As executive chef of Teranga and co-founder of Yolélé Foods, he champions indigenous African ingredients, particularly fonio—an ancient grain he’s helped bring to global markets.
Thiam’s cooking philosophy centers on sustainability and cultural preservation. His work connects the dots between West African culinary traditions and their influence on American Southern cooking, highlighting how enslaved Africans transformed the American food landscape.
Beyond creating delicious food, Thiam builds economic opportunities for African farmers. By creating supply chains for traditional ingredients, he demonstrates how culinary appreciation can support sustainable development while introducing Americans to flavors that have shaped their cuisine in hidden ways.
15. Mariya Russell: Breaking Michelin Barriers
In 2019, Mariya Russell made culinary history as the first Black woman in the United States to earn a coveted Michelin star. As chef de cuisine at Chicago’s Kumiko and Kikkō, she crafted exquisite Japanese-inspired tasting menus that showcased her technical precision and creative vision.
Russell’s journey through male-dominated kitchens prepared her for leadership. Her meticulous approach to flavor balancing and presentation elevated bar food to fine dining status, proving that exceptional cuisine can exist in diverse formats.
Though she stepped away from restaurants during the pandemic to focus on personal well-being, Russell’s achievement permanently changed the landscape. Her star shattered a significant glass ceiling, inspiring a generation of young Black women to pursue culinary excellence without limits.
16. Lena Richard: Television’s First Black Cooking Star
In 1949, decades before celebrity chefs became common, Lena Richard broke barriers as the first Black woman to host her own television cooking show. Broadcasting from New Orleans, she shared authentic Creole recipes at a time when segregation still limited opportunities for Black culinary professionals.
Richard’s accomplishments extended far beyond television. She operated catering businesses, cooking schools, and restaurants while publishing the first Creole cookbook by an African American chef in 1939—documenting recipes that might otherwise have been lost.
Her entrepreneurial spirit created pathways in a deeply segregated industry. By teaching both Black and white students and appearing on television, Richard asserted that Black culinary expertise deserved recognition and respect, laying groundwork for future generations of diverse food personalities.
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