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From ideation to actualization, husband-and-wife duo chefs Cybille St. Aude-Tate and Omar Tate have always wanted Honeysuckle to be rooted in the idea that Black food should be celebrated, that it’s not a monolith, and that the magic and folklore of the Black experience should be explored, preserved, and reimagined.
Now with one year under their belt and garnering accolades rapidly, these culinary innovators are ready to reflect and intentionally evolve the space that continues to bring them much acclaim.
A Love Story Rooted in Black Culinary Heritage
It could be said that St. Aude-Tate and Tate’s mutual passion for Honeysuckle echoes their own love story. The couple met in 2020 at the Charleston Food and Wine Festival, where they had both been invited to cook at a featured event hosted by Chef BJ Dennis. “It was truly love at first sight, if anyone wants to pick up the story for Netflix,” St. Aude-Tate shares.
Tate in Philadelphia working as a chef, and St. Aude-Tate in New York, their whirlwind beginning brought St. Aude-Tate to Philadelphia, and six months later, they were married. Soon thereafter, they welcomed their first child, Jupiter, all the while dreaming of their life together and bringing to life a concept that uplifted the African diaspora and its many influences on Black foodways.
Their paths had been similar and almost parallel before they met. Tate, a native of the Philadelphia area, had worked his way up in the restaurant industry, starting in back-of-house roles before a series of opportunities helped him carve his path as a chef. Alongside his cooking career, he has always been a creative, diving into a broad spectrum of artistry, talented in painting, poetry, and ceramics.
The Philly native was inspired by the works of Kerry James Marshall, Toni-Tipton Martin, and Kevin Young, a poet, whose book, “The Gray Album” – a collection of essays and critiques on Black culture – taught him how to be critical of the work he is doing in food. He also shares his love of a late 1960’s – early 1970s show on PBS called “Soul!,” which centered on Black arts and music.
“’Soul!’ was like a living Black art magazine,” Tate says. “You can find it on YouTube. There were five seasons, and then it was defunded. But the core conversation in that show and every episode across five years was about love and the work of love.”
This collection of influences has made imprints on the aesthetic and conceptual approach to his culinary work. Informing one of Honeysuckle’s first iterations, a pop-up dinner series designed to celebrate Black culinary heritage and literature, which earned Tate “Chef of the Year” and “Pop-Up of the Year” for Esquire Magazine in 2020.
Like Tate, St. Aude-Tate’s path to becoming a chef did not take a formal culinary training route. Instead, she started working in restaurants out of necessity. She reminisces, “I found myself in restaurants because I needed to pay back my student loans.”
Before working in restaurants, she studied African American History at the University of Maryland, College Park. She desired to pursue a career as a lawyer or in social justice. “My family’s from Haiti, so I was always enamored [with] Haitian history, culture, the Caribbean, and what that means being first generation in America, but still having all of these cultural connections and roots.”
She grew up at the hip of a mother who loved to cook and co-owned a business with a friend baking elaborate Haitian cakes and desserts. To her surprise, her mother’s tutelage showed up in her restaurant work, with a friend who was a chef noting how well-versed she was in various flavors.
With his encouragement, she became his apprentice, starting her own journey to become a chef, but one thing was missing. She says, “I started working for other people in other kitchens, and then I recognized that I wasn’t seeing myself on a plate. I wasn’t seeing the flavors that I grew up with. So, I made the decision to pivot and focus more on Haitian food and flavors…talking about the experience of being Haitian American in the United States at that time and what that looked like on a plate for me.”
Drawing on their mutual love for Black history and creative and culinary arts, both Cybille and Omar began to dream up a space where they could continue to nurture these passions in themselves but also educate others. Together, they would bring to life Honeysuckle Provisions, a small grocery storefront and cafe opened in West Philadelphia in 2022.
The concept was a hit, offering a modest selection of farm fresh produce, and serving breakfast sandwiches and pastries that donned names of famous Black historical figures. They even started selling fried fish hoagies on Friday that would regularly sell out.
Nearly two years later, another opportunity arose, and the duo was able to secure their next phase of Honeysuckle, this time as a full restaurant, located on Philadelphia’s North Broad Street, blocks from City Hall. A space that would allow them to stretch and ideate on their already celebrated foundation.
One Year of Learning and Evolution for Honeysuckle
Entering Honeysuckle is an awe-inspiring experience of its own with Omar’s art peppered throughout the space. A large-scale painting of his sets the tone as a focal point, a backdrop to the warm wood tables, as well as installations and ceramics that pay homage to the ancestors.
Each placement is intentional, and each detail brings depth and warmness to the dining experience. They invite conversation and play thoughtfully with the collection of dishes and beverages whose presentations are as exquisite and bold as their flavor pairings.
That vibrance extends past the physical space to their team, who are clearly invested in the full experience, not just what’s being served on the plate. It shows in the way they speak about the dishes, drawing their own personal connections, but also speaking of the influences and history that led to their creation. This was an aspect that was vital to Omar and Cybille.
“Creating a narrative-driven experience is important to us. We train our team on the stories of all the dishes, even if it seems like something as simple as our auntie’s roasted chicken. I’m also always referencing things that are not food. If John Coltrane can play my favorite things, which is a jazz standard, but is very unique, then that’s what we want with every single dish, whether it’s a classic standard or something more abstract,” shares Omar.
Transitioning from a small grocery and cafe concept didn’t come without its share of growth and challenges. Among them were pivoting from a $95 prixe fixe menu to a tasting experience, trialing varied events and brunch service, and one that Omar wasn’t shy about sharing.
“Money. I’m not being facetious. There’s just never enough of it…from payroll to overhead, to linens to surprise electrical and plumbing issues, all these different things that could honestly pull the creative engine and drive for most people, but I found that Cybille and I are still able to create through that.”
But even in the midst of the challenges they faced, there were many moments that sparked joy and magic in ways that they could not have expected. From having legendary culinary historian Dr. Jessica B. Harris hosting a book release event to a recent visit from Tamron Hall that went viral, swiftly bringing many more reservations into the space within the week.
Both agree, though, one of their favorite events occurred in early December of 2025. It was titled, “A Classically Black Arts Salon: Beauty Found in the Cracks” and featured a host of artists, including Black opera singers. Omar says, “That experience was so incredible. We just didn’t know that our space could sound like that, and it almost felt like we were time-traveling too…I get chills every time I think about that.”
Cybille says the event brought on similar feelings. “I’d never been to the opera before, but it was really transformative hearing and watching these two magnificent artists, sing about love and all these deeply emotional things. I didn’t understand the Italian, but they also performed pieces from “Porgy and Bess “and sang beautiful renditions of Langston Hughes poems. It resonated with us culturally, and I remember thinking, ‘This is what I want in our space.’”
Exploring the Next Phase of Storytelling through Food
The expansion and notoriety of Honeysuckle have brought on a wave of recognition, including a joint nomination for the James Beard Award for Best Chef Mid-Atlantic, and Omar being honored as a Pew Fellow, through the Pew Center for Arts and Heritage. In April, the restaurant celebrated one year of service, a fete that deserves much praise and celebration, but they are already putting plans in motion for what’s next.
On the horizon is their annual Juneteenth celebration in partnership with Plowshare Farm, as well as the launch of a nonprofit organization, The Honeysuckle Food Institute and Archive, dedicated to the long-term preservation of Black folk traditions. Established as a living site of learning, reflection, and community gathering, the institute will also serve as a home for cultural resources, artifacts, and storytelling.
Cybille says she also sees expanding the beverage program as one of its biggest opportunities, particularly through education on Caribbean and African diasporic histories tied to spirits like rum. She wants to highlight how these spirits are connected to ancestral and spiritual practices, while also acknowledging the histories of the people who labored (and still labor) to produce key ingredients like sugarcane.
For Omar, it’s about refinement and staying centered on their identity. “Staying centered on our identity is important, and I think a bit of restraint is in our future. We’re the kind of people who are full of ideas, and we want to execute them at the highest level, every time. And we’ve been successful doing that, but to a point where I think we have to pull back a bit, or we’ll become untethered, ya know?”
To learn more about chefs Cybille St. Aude-Tate and Omar Tate, follow them on Instagram, or to make a reservation at Honeysuckle visit the website.
