Smalls, Alexander
1952- · Contribution: 1985-
Chef, Restaurateur & Opera Singer
Won a Grammy and Tony Award as part of the cast recording of 'Porgy and Bess' before becoming a celebrated restaurateur of Southern and Lowcountry cuisine; co-authored 'Between Harlem and Heaven,' which won the James Beard Award for Best American Cookbook
Portraits are AI-generated interpretations, not photographs.
Quick facts
- Born
- 1952
- Active since
- 1985
- Category
- Agriculture & Food
- Best known for
- Grammy & Tony winnerLowcountry cuisine restaurateurBetween Harlem and Heaven
Impact on the world
Smalls moved from the opera stage to the kitchen, championing Gullah Geechee cuisine as serious culinary art. His restaurants and award-winning book preserved a distinct African American foodway.
Sources
- Penguin Random House (Notes from a Young Black Chef blurbs)
1 more sources and references are available to members.
Related visionaries
Johnson, Joseph 'JJ'
1984-present
Won the James Beard Award for Best American Cookbook for 'Between Harlem and Heaven,' co-authored with Alexander Smalls, already profiled in this collection; founded Fieldtrip, a fast-casual restaurant built specifically around rice as a global heritage grain connecting African, Caribbean, Asian, and American culinary traditions
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
Lewis, Edna Regina
1916-2006
Helped define and popularize authentic Southern cuisine through cookbooks centering African American food traditions; pioneered farm-to-table cooking decades before the term existed