Still We Rise Part 1 – The Impact of America’s Black Chefs: The Past

Why do the stories of Black chefs representing the past, present, and future matter? The culinary history of Black people in the U.S. and abroad can answer that question. In early America, Black hands picked the crops, stirred the pots, and served everyone from presidents to field hands.

Black minds coaxed soulful flavor into legendary dishes during the Colonial Era and long after. They mastered international cuisines in homes, mansions, hotels and restaurants. Black hearts nourished families, connected communities and supported social causes through centuries of slavery, oppression and discrimination.  

The significant contributions of Black chefs, cooks, restaurant owners, hospitality hosts, spirits makers, farmers and food writers largely went unrecognized until the late 1990s. Others took credit for their creations and achievements as Southern cuisines rose to prominence and American cooks were classified as professionals instead of domestic workers.

In recent years, the culinary world began acknowledging what Black food historians such as Jessica B. Harris, Michael Twitty and Adrian Miller had documented – that Black chefs and cooks built the foundation of American cuisine and continue to do extraordinary work in the food industry.

In this special Cuisine Noir series, “Still We Rise,”Joe Randall, Kristi Brown, Tiffany Derry and Nicholas Carr share their thoughts on the culinary history of African Americans and their personal journeys as Black chefs.

The Past: Chef Joe Randall

For more than half a century, the chef Cuisine Noir named the “Dean of Southern Cuisine” in 2014 has cultivated culinary excellence and shared his knowledge of authentic Southern food. Chef Joe Randall inspires Blacks in kitchens everywhere by encouraging them to celebrate the shoulders they stand on, like those of James Hemings, Thomas Jefferson’s enslaved cook and the country’s first classically trained chef de cuisine.

“Jefferson took him to France and had him trained. When Hemings came back to the United States, he trained his brother so he could get his freedom,” says Chef Randall. “We’ve had a lot of wonderful cooks who have come up through the years and passed on what they have learned.”

Today, food historians credit Hemings with introducing iconic American dishes such as macaroni and cheese, French fries, crème brûlée, vanilla ice cream and meringues. Yet the talent he displayed cooking remarkable meals at the American embassy in France and Monticello in Virginia in the mid-to-late 1700s was largely ignored until the 21st century.

The public’s perception of Black cooks as little more than domestic servants working for skilled whites continued long after Hemings died a free man.

“At one time, we were the foundation of cooking. But nobody wanted to send their children to school to be a domestic. That’s what it was, domestic work,” Randall offers. The 78-year-old inductee to the International Culinary, Culinary Institute and African American Chefs Halls of Fame devoted his career to proving Blacks were as professional as whites in the kitchen.

The American Culinary Federation pushed the U.S. Labor Department to re-classify cooks as professionals in 1967 after European chefs accustomed to that definition immigrated here. “All of a sudden, we were just soul food cooks. There is a lot of Southern food being cooked by white boys today, and they don’t give credit to where it came from. And then you have young Black chefs who wanted to make sure that everybody didn’t see them as soul food cooks. They wanted to make sure they were considered classically trained chefs,” Randall says.

• Still We Rise Part 2 – The Impact of America’s Black Chefs: The Present
  
• Still We Rise Part 3 – The Impact of America’s Black Chefs: The Future
  

Chef Joe’s Career

The Pennsylvania-born chef acquired a deeper appreciation of Southern food while cooking in U.S. Air Force flight line kitchens. Randall began his culinary career in 1962 and used on-the-job training to build a prestigious reputation.

Randall climbed the ranks cooking in award-winning restaurants, hotels and country clubs in Pennsylvania, Georgia, New York, New Jersey and Maryland. “I worked for two chefs, one Italian who taught classical cuisine, and one African American, who taught Southern food and classical. When I met those two, I never looked back,” the chef reflects.

The African American chef was Pennsylvania’s Robert W. Lee, the first Black chef in an executive position in  Harrisburg and another African American Chefs Hall of Fame member. “I was fortunate to work under two chefs who believed in sharing. They shared with me and taught me to share with others,” Randall acknowledges.

In 2000, he moved to Savannah and opened Chef Joe Randall’s Cooking School. For 16 years Randall taught young cooks the skills required to rise to the top of their profession, the importance of preserving authentic Southern cuisine and why they should take pride in African American achievements.

“So, the most rewarding thing is the relationships with Black chefs, trying to get them to feel good about the contributions that Black people have made to food in America,” declares Randall. “Being able to share what you had learned and being able to pass it on. That’s the joy.”

RELATED: Diane Spivey Shows Black Chefs’ Undeniable Foundation for American Cuisine

What It Means to Be a Black Chef

Randall received some of the highest honors awarded to culinary pioneers during his illustrious career. The Southern cuisine dean is among the Black culinary giants showcased at the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Randall’s best-selling cookbook and 40-year-old colander are part of the permanent Cultural Expressions exhibition, which pays tribute to President George Washington’s chef Hercules, Patrick Clark, Edna Lewis and Leah Chase.

Randall counted Clark, Lewis and Chase among the accomplished Black chefs who became friends. “I met people like Johnny Rivers, who worked for Disney; Clifton Williams, who worked with me in New Jersey and Clayton Sherrod in Birmingham.”

In 1998, Randall and food historian Toni Tipton-Martin’s “Taste of Heritage: The New African American Cuisine” delivered a revolutionary collection of more than 300 recipes showcasing Black chefs and telling their stories.

Twenty-five years after Randall’s tribute to the ingenuity and influence of African Americans in the nation’s kitchens was published, the James Beard Foundation inducted the chef and “Taste of Heritage” into its Cookbook Hall of Fame.

Chef Randall urges anyone starting out in the cooking profession to respect others, manage techniques and tools, stay positive, and learn about Black culinary history. He sees new possibilities emerging for African Americans who love to cook.

“If they continue to want to apply themselves, go to school, train well and find a great chef they can train under,” says Randall, “Then they will pass on the knowledge they have gained to the younger people coming up.”

Explore the contributions of extraordinary Black chefs past, present and future in Cuisine Noir. Many of these chefs with tremendous impact and influence are featured in the magazine’s print and online issues. The names include but are not limited to James Beard Award nominees, Michelin Star winners, TV celebrities, celebrity chefs and best chef and best restaurant award recipients:   

Eric Adjepong, Ope Amosu, Sunny Anderson, Nyesha Arrington, Mashama Bailey, Dane Baldwin, Erica Barrett, Angel Barreto, Leilani Baugh, Shorne Benjamin, Andrew Black, Tavel Bristol-Joseph, Damien Brockway, Kardea Brown, Tabitha Brown, Ed Brumfield, Geoff Davis, Greg Collier, Nina Compton, Erika Council, BJ Dennis, Tobias Dorzon, Darryl E. Evans, Bryan Ferman, G. Gavin, Nelson German, Kenny Gilbert, Gregory Gourdet, Jerome Grant, Carla Hall, Rahman “Rock” Harper, Tanya Holland, Stanley Jackson, JJ Johnson, Prince Lobo, Dolester Miles, Charlie Mitchell, Mariya Moore-Russell, Serigne Mbaye and Duane Nutter.

Also, Lorraine Pascal, Joseph Paire III, Charly Pierre, Michael Reed, Todd Richards, Jonny Rhodes, Damon Sawyer, Rodney Scott, Ashley Shanti, Alexander Smalls, Daryl Shular, Gerald Sombright, Elias Taddesse, Cybille St. Aude-Tate, Omar Tate, Bryant Terry, Pierre Thiam, Deborah VanTrece, Michelle Wallace, Nick Wallace, Tarsha Gary, Vernetta Stewart, Tunde Wey, Jernard Wells, Leon West, Jay Fisher, Chris Williams and David Zilber.

You can find out more about these talented Black chefs on their websites, social media platforms, or on Cuisine Noir.