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The look of enjoyment spreading across a talk show celebrity’s face explains why a Brooklyn chef’s oxtail grilled cheese became a social media sensation. When Tamron Hall chowed down on the Fat Fowl eatery’s specialty, it confirmed why the sandwich generated so much buzz.
Foodies consider Shorne Benjamin’s creation one of the best dishes at Caribbean restaurants in Brooklyn.
“That was a proud moment. You work so hard, and all of it is a labor of love,” says Benjamin. I waited my time, making sacrifices. The reward later on, like this, is amazing. I feel good about the people who have been encouraging me and my team.”
The executive chef and founder of Fat Fowl started thinking about an oxtail grilled cheese while working at the luxury Andaz 5th Avenue Hotel in Manhattan.
“The grilled cheese was a popular item. I was making it often and thought, ‘How can I make this Caribbean, add a Caribbean element to it?”’ recalls the St. Lucian-born restaurateur.
“I decided to infuse it with oxtail to make it a sandwich. I said to myself, ‘This is really good. When I open my first restaurant, I’m going to put it on the menu.’”
A New Age Twist to Caribbean Restaurants in Brooklyn
Chef Benjamin launched Fat Fowl about two years before he appeared on the Tamron Hall Show last March in New York City. A national audience heard the Emmy-winning TV journalist tell people they need to try the “showstopping oxtail grilled cheese.”
His vision of bringing a New Age Caribbean restaurant to downtown Brooklyn brought lines of customers to Fat Fowl’s counter at DeKalb Market Hall.
“They come for an experience that has traveled by word of mouth and social media. We also have high standards, and I preach that,” says Benjamin.
Fat Fowl’s founder created a menu that offers fast-casual service with the quality of fine dining cuisine. “There is a reward. The reward is not for recognition, but for the community and how they have received the food we created.”
The chef and his 15-member team cook in an open kitchen that allows patrons to watch them prepare Benjamin’s creations, from organic rotisserie chicken to black fried rice. Fat Fowl’s owner applies his grandmother’s influence and his French culinary training to elevate Caribbean cooking and combine it with global flavors.
“You see that your food is cooked fresh in front of you. You can see what is going into your food. It gives an assurance about the time, art and care the chef is giving at that moment,” Benjamin remarks about wildly popular Caribbean restaurant in Brooklyn.
The restaurant’s name came from the chef’s pop-up days when he prepared a particularly plump and juicy cornish hen. It reminded him of islanders calling chickens fat fowls. “That’s a perfect name. I didn’t want to identify as totally Caribbean. I wanted it to be open for everybody to receive my food. But Fat Fowl, anybody that is Caribbean can identify with it,” explains the founder.
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The chef’s innovative approach to celebrating traditional Caribbean cuisine with upscale, healthy dishes infused with global flavors appeals to Brooklyn’s diverse community. The 2010 Census counted people of Caribbean descent in New York City’s largest borough at around 370,000. However, Fat Fowl attracts diners from different cultures and classes with fresh comfort food that is made right.
“The way I elevate it is simply through the spices I’ve gotten from my grandmother’s cooking, using seasonal ingredients and infusing other flavors to take it to the next level,” says Benjamin.
“I heard somebody say Fat Fowl is small but mighty. It is a great experience. Sometimes, I’m taken aback by how people respond. People actually come here to celebrate their anniversary or a date night.”
Fat Fowl’s Fine Dining Fusion at DeKalb Market Hall
Benjamin’s quest to deliver upscale dining in a market setting raises the standard for Caribbean restaurants in Brooklyn. Fat Fowl is now a destination for locals as well foodies from outside the borough, the city, the state and even the U.S.
“I always tell people if I put the food on a real plate, you would see the quality. The elevation is based on flavor and appearance,” the chef notes. “They could go to a five-star restaurant, and it would be the same quality as Fat Fowl.”
The restaurateur’s chef-driven concept is enhanced by fine dining techniques but not restricted by culinary boundaries. Diners can choose from meat, gluten-free, vegetarian or vegan options that combine seasonal ingredients with Caribbean, Southern, Asian and Latin twists.
Benjamin strives to leave patrons with a nostalgic feeling that keeps them coming back for more. “I just wanted to show my range of cooking. I could have done jerk rotisserie. But the chef in me and my training made me decide to do lavender rotisserie chicken. Lavender releases a citrus flavor, which is very good with chicken,” the chef states.
Vegetarians or vegans might want to try the tamarind jerk mushrooms, honey curry carrots or string beans with chimichurri sauce. The curry shrimp burger with mango slaw and curry mayo is one of the menu’s flavor-packed seafood dishes, and the Mediterranean branzino is another gem. “Here, I am basting and sautéing the fish and serving it with scotch bonnet peppers, fresh garlic and thyme. People who know the fish say, ‘This is the best I’ve ever had,”’ Benjamin relays.
Fat Fowl’s founder likes to encourage healthier eating, which he does by incorporating herbs and spices known for their healing qualities. “I make lemonade with rose petals. I did some research on rose tea and how healthy it is. You’re eating well, but it is food that is beneficial for you. I cook with a lot of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and fresh thyme,” Benjamin adds.
The creamy mac and cheese is a refined version of his grandmother’s classic recipe. Benjamin describes how living in St. Lucia as a child and exploring other countries provides a palette for his colorful food combinations.
“It comes from my travels, training, how my grandmother cooked, and the flavors I grew up on. It’s inspiring when you travel, read and taste different cuisines,” says the chef. “You make it your own. It’s almost like a different flavor profile comes when you marry different ingredients that people typically don’t think about.”
Grandma’s Cooking Fires a Founder’s Passion for Caribbean Flavors
Benjamin’s cooking adventures began around age eight in his grandmother’s kitchen in St. Lucia. Ma Benji, as she was called, gave her grandson a firm foundation for preparing family meals.
The future chef shares the amusing reason why he took on making Sunday dinners. “In the islands, it’s a day and a half trip to church, and then it’s hot. No AC, then you come home and have to cook dinner. It makes it a long day. I realized, ‘You know what? Let me tell the family I will stay home and cook Sunday dinner.’ They could go to church, and I could get out of it.”
As a young man, Benjamin took his love for cooking and what Ma Benji taught him about braising, stewing and seasoning to the U.S. However, he immigrated to America in 1998 to follow in his family’s footsteps in finance and accounting. After graduating from New York’s Mercy College, he landed a position as a stockbroker on Wall Street.
The celebrated chef describes the motivation behind that career choice. “When you get the opportunity to come to the U.S., you recognize that sacrifices were made. That was on my mind and set the tone for me to try to be successful. I wanted to make them proud and not make them feel disappointed.”
In 2008, the economy crashed, and Benjamin lost his Wall Street job. He decided it was time to pursue his true passion by enrolling in the French Culinary Institute of New York (now the International Culinary Center).
After graduation, he spent a decade working in fine dining. Then, in 2019, the coronavirus pandemic prompted Benjamin to make another pivot. “Cooking saved me during the pandemic. It made me work to create a financial stream for myself. All of that gave me the opportunity to open Fat Fowl,” he says.
Pop-ups and private dinners kept the Brooklyn entrepreneur busy during the pandemic. His finance background helped him conquer some challenges commonly associated with starting a business.
Benjamin remembers learning to overcome another obstacle the hard way. “You’ve got to be mindful of the partnerships you form, in terms of the people entering your life to create a brand. Sometimes, people take advantage, and sometimes, they don’t believe in your passion. They are only looking at the short term.”
Fat Fowl’s executive chef had already gained recognition for his cooking before he opened the Caribbean restaurant in Brooklyn. Benjamin won the 2017 Grace Jamaican Jerk Festival Celebrity Chef Throw Down and made it into the semi-finals of the International Iron Chef Competition in Toronto the same year.
His appearances on Food Network’s “Beat Bobby Flay” and “Chopped” and participation in Food & Wine festivals generated glowing write-ups in the New York Times, Forbes, Ebony, the Amsterdam News and other publications.
“I just celebrated a birthday recently, and I reflected on the growth I’ve had and the people around me who have given positive encouragement. You look at what you’ve done, and you don’t take it for granted. It feels good to be in this position now, but I can still feel the scars that I went through to get to this point,” Benjamin acknowledges.
Taking New Age Caribbean Cuisine Beyond Brooklyn
The 45-year-old Fat Fowl founder can now appreciate being the sole owner of his Caribbean restaurant in Brooklyn. At the same time, he is excited about the attention Black chefs and other chefs of color are now getting for their talents. “It gives me hope. They win, I win and I just have to add my part to it, in terms of the growth and the direction that we are going to tell our stories.”
Later this month, Benjamin will join an impressive line-up of renowned chefs and food experts at the Annual Family Reunion at Sheila Johnson’s five-star Salamander Resort & Spa in Middleburg, Virginia.
It will be the Brooklyn chef’s third invite to the prestigious event presented by Kwame Onwuachi, an award-winning New York City restaurateur and one of Benjamin’s mentors.
“There’s a quote at the Family Reunion,’ You come as friends and leave as family.’ That’s really true because the networking and the love are incredible. It is Black culture, and we share it!”
Chef Onwuachi is one of several culinary celebrities who encouraged Fat Fowl’s owner and offered advice, alongside Charlie Mitchell, Nina Compton, Gregory Gourdet and Tiffany Derry.
Benjamin cherishes the opportunity to do the same for young, up-and-coming culinary professionals. “You need that. You need to be accessible. In the same way that when I was coming up, there were other chefs I reached out to, and they spoke to me. You pass it on.”
When he returned to his homeland in April, the Brooklyn restaurant owner put that belief into action. Chef Benjamin’s residency at the luxury Caille Blanc Villa & Hotel set the stage for him to share his New Age Caribbean concept and encourage some of the hotel’s talented chefs.
“There is actually a young chef at the property who followed me for years, and when he heard I was coming there to cook at Caille Blanc with him, he was excited,” he says.
Some of Fat Fowl’s dishes, including the oxtail grilled cheese, are featured on the Pavilion Restaurant menu at Caille Blanc. Benjamin will return to St. Lucia on September 19 to lead a five-day foodie adventure at the resort. He is looking forward to spending more time with island chefs.
“You give them encouragement, and just the fact you taste their food and say it’s good gives them motivation to continue. They see me as what they want to be and what they want to inspire in others.”
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The Power of a St. Lucian Upbringing
The years Benjamin spent being guided by his grandmother provided all the inspiration he needs to continue his culinary journey. He aspires to be the Bob Marley of modern Caribbean cuisine with a world following.
“I feel good about making my country feel proud. And again, continuing my grandmother’s legacy. She made a lot of people happy and I’m doing the same in my own different way,” declares the Brooklyn resident.
Ma Benji owned a restaurant in the town of Soufriere. Benjamin reveals why he made it his mission during his April visit to locate the building that housed her restaurant. “I actually had to put my palm on the building and receive the energy. I knew my grandmother had something to do with the history of that building. I just wanted to take that energy, give and take, and be thankful.”
The chef’s dad, mom and other relatives in St. Lucia applaud his culinary success and are proud that he became what the old folks call “a good child.” Benjamin dreams of expanding the Fat Fowl brand and knows he can tap into the power of his St. Lucian upbringing to face what lies ahead.
“Never give up. If you are good to the universe, the universe will be good to you. Sometimes, in my difficult times, I just look up in the heavens. There’s a saying my grandmother used to say, ‘Oh, God, help my soul.’ I say that not in bravado but just being thankful. I know I’m not alone.”
Follow the Caribbean restaurant’s founder on social media @chefshorne and @fatfowlnewyork.
