“I’m in the business of building tables.”
The founders of Black Chef Table, Marcus Davis and Chef Keisha Griggs, are changing the culinary landscape one dinner at a time. Houston restaurateur, Marcus Davis, is the brilliant gastronomic mind behind Kulture, Reggae Hut, and the award-winning restaurant, The Breakfast Klub. Chef Keisha Griggs is the innovative owner of Ate Kitchen, Bocage Catering, and the newly-opened Kuji Kitchen.
As industry veterans, they recognized the lack of access and opportunities for Black chefs and budding entrepreneurs. Together, they built a platform for Afro-descendant chefs to tell their cultural food stories while incorporating African American food purveyors and growers.
In 2020, with the commitment to create a full-cycle economy and community for under-represented food professionals, Black Chef Table was born.
Black Chef Table is a curated dinner series held inside The James Beard Award-nominated Kulture, a restaurant Davis opened in 2018. Kulture was started to promote the culinary experience for talented Black chefs that had not been granted that opportunity.
“Providing a platform for multiple chefs was the seed of Black Chef Table,” says Davis.
Chefs typically start their careers by cooking someone else's menu or creating for another chef. It was important for Davis and Griggs to not only promote hands-on culinary experience, but also allow chefs to illustrate their cultural backgrounds and unique perspectives.
“Black food and Black food stories are not a monolith, says Griggs. “We come from all different parts of the world and we have different cultures that reflect that.” Each multi-course tasting menu reflects the personal stories, distinct flavors, and diverse cultures of the chefs at Black Chef Table.
“The food of White America, by way of slavery, was cooked by Black America.”
When curating their menus, the chefs are encouraged to bring their interpretation to seasonal ingredients, harvested from local African American ranchers, gardeners, fishermen, and farmers. Griggs got her start selling farm-to-table meals and continues to highlight the importance of that ecosystem.
"We do want food closer and fresher, but also we want to give our money to African Americans. We aren't just Black-owned. We are able to circulate our dollar to other Black businesses, strengthening the economy,” explains Griggs.
Davis recognizes that his place at the table is not necessarily in a seat.
"I’m in the business of building tables," says Davis. “It feels great to be able to provide seats at a table. It feels great to be able to provide a table in my community. It feels great to be able to show others, by example, how to build tables.” Those table-builders he and Griggs are nurturing, are culinary leaders and food advocates who can create meaningful conversations, new business models, and innovative ideas around how we eat and experience food.
Both of these builders draw inspiration from the history of Greenwood and the flames that destroyed Black Wall Street in 1921. Davis draws from the resiliency seen post-fire—a spirit that says, “It has to be done, it must be done, and we have the capacity and ability to do it.” There was an enormity of self-sufficiency for those who built Greenwood and sustained its success.
“We need to get back to that sense of community that was there pre-fire—open businesses together, work together collaboratively, to build something for generations to come. That is where my inspiration draws from,” says Griggs. “The sense of going back to community. Creating a silo for us to be able to support each other.”
▪️ PHOTOS BY EMILY LYONS-WOOD | STORY BY SAMANTHA MOISA
Featured in Issue No. 2
Issue No. 2 is a celebration of Black chefs and food entrepreneurs. Read stories of their triumphs and try personal recipes from the kitchens of James Beard Award-winning chefs.