New York City’s Tatiana by Chef Kwame Onwuachi is today named as the recipient of the Resy One To Watch Award from The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, in the news that was revealed live by the 50 Best organization at a celebratory dinner held at Tatiana last night. The award recognizes a rising-star restaurant that is making waves in the gastronomic scene and is worthy of international acclaim.
The restaurant opened just six months ago, in November 2022, at the city’s prestigious Lincoln Center in Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Named after Onwuachi’s sister, Tatiana celebrates the chef’s New York upbringing along with his heritage as part of the African diaspora. An inventive menu features dishes ranging from Cornbread and Cod, with smoked jerk cod, buttermilk soubise and fennel, and Egusi Dumplings stuffed with black crab and served with Nigerian red stew and pickled pearl onions, to Braised Oxtails served with rice and peas, Thumbelina carrot and chayote squash and Take-Out Mushrooms with scallion pancake, plum sauce and pickled ginger.
A Bronx native, with roots in Nigeria, New Orleans and the Caribbean, Onwuachi was first introduced to cooking by his mother. After training at the Culinary Institute of America in New York, he worked at some of the world’s most renowned restaurants including Eleven Madison Park and Per Se. His impressive resume saw him open five restaurants before the age of 30, including the much-lauded Kith/Kin in Washington, D.C., as well as appearing as a judge on season 18 of Top Chef, having made his debut as a contestant on the show some five years prior.
William Drew, Director of Content for The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, says: “With Tatiana already one of the hottest tickets on New York City’s culinary scene just six months after opening, this award could not be more deserved. Chef Kwame and his team are trailblazers delivering a standout gastronomic experience, putting Caribbean, African, and Black American cooking in the spotlight. We know the Tatiana team will continue showcasing its myriad talents for years.”
Onwuachi says: “I want to thank my team and my support system first and foremost; none of this is possible without you. I’m excited, honored, and grateful to be recognized on a world stage.”
Pablo Rivero, CEO of Resy and VP of American Express Dining, says: “Resy is thrilled to present the One To Watch Award to Tatiana by Kwame Onwuachi. Chef Kwame’s restaurant embodies the ethos of this prestigious award and Resy’s mission to celebrate culinary creativity, community, and storytelling.”
The Resy One To Watch Award winner is selected by the 50 Best team as a rising star restaurant that it believes has the potential to make it onto the organization’s annual global ranking in the future. It is also one of several awards to be revealed ahead of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2023 awards ceremony in Valencia, which will be held at Les Arts opera house, part of the city’s modernist City of Arts and Sciences complex, on the evening of Tuesday 20th June.
This year’s program will include a series of key events which have become the cornerstone of 50 Best Restaurants celebrations: thought-leadership forum #50BestTalks; the 50 Best Signature Sessions series of collaborative dining events open to the public; a Chefs’ Feast showcasing the finest produce and cooking from the Spanish region, all culminating in the awards ceremony and countdown itself.
The world’s most renowned chefs will also impart their knowledge to local culinary students through a 50 Best educational event, as 50 Best continues its mission to amplify diverse voices and positive messages, foster progressive discussion and cross-border collaboration, and encourage greater gastronomic discovery and exploration.
Tatiana by Kwame Onwuachi
10 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023, United States
