Notes from a Young Black Chef

Brigade de cuisine is a hierarchical system that restaurants use to maximize efficiency. The system was first developed in the 19th century to delegate different responsibilities to cooks in the kitchen.

Creole cuisine represents many dishes originating in Louisiana. These dishes are influenced by West African, French, Spanish, and Indigenous cuisines. Jambalaya and crawfish étouffée are quintessential Creole recipes.

Egusi stew is a Nigerian dish. Kwame Onwuachi shares that his father enjoyed egusi stew and that his mother often made it to appease her husband. The recipe uses the large seeds of an African melon, which are ground and added to thicken a stock of tomatoes, Scotch bonnets, crayfish powder, aromatics, and spices.

In French, étouffée means “smothered.” The dish refers to smothering rice with a seafood gravy, often made with crayfish or shrimp.

For students at CIA, an externment is a limited frame of time during which they work as apprentices at various restaurants. For professional chefs, this type of experience is also called a “stage” (pronounced “staj”). This is an internship, paid or unpaid, at a restaurant.

Fufu is a West African swallow food, a starchy and stretchy dish that is used to sop up and eat various stews and curries. These sticky doughs are typically made with cassava, yams, or plantains.

Gumbo is a dish of rice and okra, often flavored with meat, seafood, and/or sausage. Gumbo is a Creole dish with roots in West Africa. When West African people were enslaved and brought to the Americas, they brought their culinary traditions with them. Gumbo is derived from a Twi term for okra. The dish also reveals German and Spanish influence. Onwuachi feels a personal connection to gumbo and describes how the dish offered him company and comfort while growing up.

In Creole and Cajun cuisine, many dishes begin with the holy trinity, or “mirepoix”: onions, bell peppers, and celery that are sautéed to form the flavor base of the dish.

This French phrase is used in kitchens to describe the work of gathering and preparing ingredients for dishes. Mise en place describes the prepping of sauces and foundational elements of dishes, as well as the chopping, mincing, and dicing of ingredients.

A nutcracker is a beverage that combines hard liquor and a fruity drink, such as Kool-Aid or punch. In New York City, nutcrackers are often sold on the streets. Onwuachi describes selling nutcrackers in his college dorm to make money.

Red stew is a Nigerian tomato stew that Onwuachi ate while visiting his grandfather. The flavorful stew uses tomatoes, Scotch bonnet peppers, onions, ginger, palm oil, bell peppers, garlic, and spices.

Soubise is a thick French sauce featuring onions. First developed in the 19th century, soubise is a staple in fine dining.

From the French term stagiaire (meaning trainee or intern) and pronounced “staj,” stage refers either to a cook’s tryout in a restaurant kitchen or to a restaurant internship that involves learning a particular cuisine or from a particular chef.