46 pages • 1 hour read
Kwame OnwuachiNotes from a Young Black Chef
Nonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | Adult | Published in 2018A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 11-13Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 11 Summary: “Angles”
Onwuachi describes his experiences as a contestant on the reality television show Top Chef. He had been scouted for the show for a prior season, but he declined when the producer admitted that the viewing audience was not ready for a Black chef who focused on fine dining. She suggested that most American viewers wanted Black chefs who cooked Southern dishes. This time, however, Onwuachi was determined to be authentic. Believing the exposure would be good press for Shaw Bijou, his new Washington, DC, restaurant, Onwuachi made it to the final six before being eliminated. He recognized that there was some stigma attached to the idea of competing on a reality show, but the opportunity to build his brand outweighed the negative perceptions.
Before he left for the competition, one of Onwuachi’s business partners gave him a generous sum of money to buy knives and clothes for the show. The show presented another opportunity for Onwuachi to consider the many versions of the self that he presented to the world. When he let his guard down, the mask slipped, and he was not always pleased with what was presented on television.
Chapter 12 Summary: “The Jewel”
When Onwuachi finished with Dinner Lab, he received multiple offers to open restaurants and start projects. Dinner Lab had given him the opportunity to practice his style of food and refine his story: “I had found a way to convert, through food, not just the warmth and love of my upbringing but also the struggles I’d faced” (231). He knew he wanted to tell a more rounded story of what it meant to be Black in the United States—that African American food was about more than Southern dishes.
The opportunity to open a restaurant in Washington, DC, with two partners who assured him that money was no object and that he could pursue his own creative vision was too good to pass up. They wanted the best of everything, and Onwuachi was happy to oblige. Onwuachi built connections with chefs in Washington, DC. Many were supportive, but some were not. They felt he was an outsider and too young. Once again, he was surrounded by people who felt he had not yet paid his dues. Often, the criticism had a racist bent; the DC food community questioned his pedigree, calling him names tinged with racism, yet Onwuachi was hopeful.
Soon, however, the financial situation of his partners deteriorated, and Onwuachi’s financial backers became increasingly hostile and controlling. They demanded that they presell tickets to the restaurant for $185, an act that sent shockwaves through the DC culinary scene and sealed their fate. On opening night, a well-known restaurant critic from The Washington Post visited Shaw Bijou and, three days later, published a scathing review. Despite the bad press and financial trouble, Onwuachi loved his team and his time in the kitchen. He felt that the restaurant was growing and the customers were happy. He was proud of the diverse team he had built and the culture he created in the kitchen. When the restaurant closed, Onwuachi was unmoored and unsure where he would go next.
Chapter 13 Summary: “The Lesson”
After the restaurant closed, Onwuachi was flooded with emotions. He was angry and depressed. He was frustrated because he believed Shaw Bijou could have been a success if it had been given more time and support. His fiancée was supportive, but she pushed him to work. Onwuachi’s reputation was not ruined; he had received many offers and invitations. He slowly made himself available, tentatively allowing himself to hope for his future. Cities such as New York, Boston, and Oakland provided opportunities, but Onwuachi felt he was not yet finished with Washington, DC. To leave now would be to admit defeat, and he was not ready for that.
Onwuachi’s time at Shaw Bijou had a profound effect on how he perceived his career and his leadership. He was proud of his team’s diversity, and he felt that the team alone made the restaurant a success. He still struggled with past decisions. Had Shaw Bijou been a success, he would have felt affirmed that his choice to make food that represented his diverse background was the right choice. Now, however, he wondered if he had chosen the wrong direction and should have stuck to Southern classics. To do so would have felt inauthentic; Onwuachi was a rebel unused to conforming to others’ expectations.
The young chef confronted all the identities he had built for himself and all the perceptions that others had about him—those of his teachers, parents, chefs, partners, and customers. He realized that honoring his ancestors, as well as his many identities, and being the kind of leader who celebrated and promoted diversity were most important to him: “I want to see a dining room full of diners, but especially brown and black diners, who, looking at their plates, feel seen, celebrated, and recognized” (269). He learned that being his authentic self was a way to help others feel connected to food and to their own identities.
Chapters 11-13 Analysis
For Onwuachi, Top Chef was a crash course in The Discovery of Identity. Onwuachi understood that his time on the show would be a challenge; he was tasked with cooking great food and challenging people’s perceptions, a dual role not shared by his Top Chef peers. He had to find a way to connect to the audience, and the best way to do this was through his story. Doing so meant translating his personal experiences into recipes and television appearances in a way that was accessible and authentic. However, such authenticity was not easy when being on camera meant he could never fully relax. In moments when he let his guard down, he said or did things that he later regretted. Competing on Top Chef caused Onwuachi to become even more introspective about who he was and who he wanted to become. Understanding his identity was key to his success on the show: “I would not survive if I didn’t know how to play that game, to hustle to get ahead, to write my own story, and to manipulate, to the extent that I could, how I was seen” (221). However, he also knew that understanding his identity was key to his self-esteem and awareness. How he saw himself and how he respected himself were equally as important to his success as how others perceived him.
Another obstacle Onwuachi’s time on Top Chef presented was financial. Chefs were expected to come in with their own knives, and they often displayed expensive pieces. Onwuachi ultimately received money from his Shaw Bijou business partner to purchase a good set of knives for the show. However, his exploration of such financial challenges contributes to his discussion of Power and Anger. Power often reveals itself financially by creating barriers for people without affluence, and throughout his early life, Onwuachi struggled financially. His mother worked long hours to feed her family. Later, Onwuachi found that he would need $33,000 a year to attend CIA. Onwuachi asked others for help and worked multiple jobs while attending school. Meanwhile, many of his peers were able to focus solely on their schoolwork without constantly working to pay the tuition.
The opening of Shaw Bijou felt like Onwuachi’s opportunity to share Food as Connection and Story. However, he soon found that even the hallowed ground of his flagship restaurant was not immune to the dynamics of power and aggression. His partners backed themselves into a financial corner, and soon they lashed out at Onwuachi. Their mistakes and domineering exertions of power undermined the entire operation, dooming it before it began. Other DC chefs carried the negative narrative forward. They insisted that Onwuachi’s approach was entitled and any attention he garnered was undeserved. One DC chef questioned Onwuachi, “Who do you think you are, homeboy?” (239). The racist tone of the inquiry was not lost on Onwuachi, who had dealt with power and aggression at every level. He had experienced it with his father and his gang. He had also witnessed it among his teachers, peers, fellow chefs, and bosses.
Nevertheless, Shaw Bijou gave Onwuachi the chance to refine more than his story. In the Shaw Bijou kitchen, Onwuachi learned about the kind of leader he wanted to be. He discovered the parameters of his power and what he wanted to do with it. Rather than wield power, Onwuachi gave it away, inviting other cooks in his kitchen to contribute their own dishes and ideas to the menu. He was proud of the diverse staff he developed and supported. He saw himself as a mentor and leader, but not one who ruled with fear and aggression. Instead, he respected his team for working hard and choosing to commit to this journey with him. Onwuachi recognized that his own career depended upon more than just his success; it depended upon the success of every person who worked for him. Although the restaurant closed, the young chef had finally discovered his identity: He was many things and many people. The food he made reflected that. It was authentic. It paid respect to those he worked with. It paid respect to his ancestors.
