Over Labor Day weekend, celebrity chef Kwame Onwuachi paid a visit to the Historic Westside’s Obodo Collective urban farm. The James Beard Award winner—who will open Maroon, his first West Coast restaurant, at Sahara Las Vegas later this year—arrived ready and willing to hear the story of the farm’s sustainable mission, because much of it mirrors his own.
“I think it was something that was ingrained in me at a young age, caring about where my food came from. I also grew up in a food desert in the Bronx,” said Onwuachi. “Inherently, growing up, it was you get what you can. Sustainability in some forms is a privilege to think about, especially in a food desert. But as I have grown in my career to this point, it’s something that’s necessary that I think about.”
In recent years, Onwuachi has emerged as one of the driving forces in Afro-Caribbean cuisine in the U.S. It’s compelling, Creole-inspired, and vibrantly enhanced by his Nigerian, Jamaican and Trinidadian upbringing.
At his New York restaurant Tatiana, he serves everything from crispy okra and cornbread to curried goat patties and braised oxtails. At his restaurant Dōgon, he honors his West African heritage through pillowy coco bread, berbere-spiced chicken and Jollof rice. Onwuachi quite literally takes his history and turns it into a heartwarming dish.
The Top Chef star will expand on that lore with Maroon, a Caribbean steakhouse rooted in the untold story of his ancestors. The name of the Vegas restaurant refers to enslaved Jamaicans who fled British rule to form new communities and farm off the land in the mountains. In his book, My America: Recipes from a Young Black Chef, Onwuachi describes their settlement as being full of Jamaican peppers and Thai bird’s eye chilies—ingredients he’s become enamored with in his own cooking.
During his farm visit, the chef crushed some Thai basil between his fingers, inhaling the aromatics as Obodo food programs coordinator Cheyenne Kyle discussed the trials and triumphs of running a farm. “The wind is the biggest challenge,” Kyle told Onwuachi, proudly showing off a batch of peppers and leafy chard she’d grown.
Onwuachi said Maroon would be a whole different experience from his East Coast operations; think flavorful jerk rubs, lots of seafood and lots of soul.
“There should be more Caribbean restaurants on the Strip. Seeing yourself on a plate of food is also representation. And I don’t think we should forget that,” he said. “The goal of my restaurants has always been for people of color to go in and celebrate their culture while celebrating such a special occasion as getting engaged or graduation or an anniversary. They’re going to look down and see themselves in the food. I think it’s going to be a very special restaurant. I’m truly proud and grateful to be able to do this.” —Amber Sampson
More upcoming restaurant openings
Michelin-starred Cote Korean Steakhouse is set to make its West Coast debut October 4 at the Venetian. If you’ve ever wondered what would happen if a classic American steakhouse merged with a boisterous Korean barbecue joint in a fun and fancy casino environment, you will soon find out.
Did someone say Michelin star? Gymkhana, one of London’s most celebrated restaurants, founded by siblings Jyotin, Karam and Sunaina Sethi, has two. Its bold and acclaimed Indian cuisine will land on the Strip at Aria in December.
Chef Shawn McClain and master sommelier Nick Hetzel are bringing their sophisticated yet playful wine market and bar concept Wineaux—already established at UnCommons—to Summerlin at JW Marriott Las Vegas Resort & Spa in October.
And some time this fall at Bellagio, in the fabled former Picasso space, Carbone Riviera will take Italian-American culinary legacy of Major Food Group’s Carbone in a new direction—one driven by seafood, which seems like a natural match for its prime fountain-side location. — Brock Radke
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