Clark, Patrick Dean
1955-1998 · Contribution: 1981-1998
Chef
First Black chef to win a James Beard Foundation Best Chef award; helped pioneer New American cuisine and the fusion of fine dining with casual bistro service; one of four candidates considered for White House chef under President Clinton
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Quick facts
- Born
- 1955
- Active since
- 1981
- Category
- Agriculture & Food
- Best known for
- First Black James Beard best-chef winnerNew American cuisineConsidered for White House chef
Impact on the world
Clark broke the color barrier at the industry's most prestigious awards and helped shape New American cuisine before his early death in 1998. He opened doors that a later generation of Black chefs walked through.
Sources
- African American Chefs Hall of Fame
3 more sources and references are available to members.
Related visionaries
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Jordan, Edouardo
1983–Present
Became, in 2018, the first African American chef to win the James Beard Foundation's Best New Restaurant award for JuneBaby; closed both of his Seattle restaurants in 2021 after a Seattle Times investigation detailed credible sexual misconduct allegations from 15 women, corroborated by 28 people in total
Samuelsson, Marcus (Kassahun Tsegie)
1971-
Youngest chef ever to receive a three-star New York Times restaurant review; opened Harlem's Red Rooster in 2010, cooked the Obama administration's first state dinner, and has won eight James Beard Foundation Awards
Onwuachi, Kwame
1989-
Opened five restaurants before turning thirty, including Washington D.C.'s acclaimed Kith/Kin; won the James Beard Foundation's Rising Star Chef of the Year award in 2019; his memoir 'Notes from a Young Black Chef' was named one of Time's essential books and is being adapted into a feature film