Photo courtesy of Chef Kwame Onwuachi.
Tickets for the 2026 Summer Season go on sale at 12 PM on April 13. Guild Hall Members enjoy early access—click HERE to join and take advantage of this and other exclusive benefits.
Stirring the Pot: Chef Kwame Onwuachi
Join Florence Fabricant as she sits down with acclaimed chef, restaurateur, and author Kwame Onwuachi for an illuminating conversation about his remarkable culinary journey. A James Beard Award winner, Onwuachi is the chef and partner behind Tatiana in New York City—one of the most celebrated restaurants in the country—as well as Dōgon and Patty Palace by Chef Kwame, each reflecting his bold, globally inspired approach to flavor and storytelling through food.
Born in the Bronx and raised between New York, Nigeria, and Louisiana, his cooking draws on Afro-Caribbean, West African, and American traditions that shape his personal history and are defining trends for today’s dining. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and author of the bestselling memoir Notes from a Young Black Chef, Onwuachi brings candor, creativity, and cultural insight to the table.
Enjoy a pre-show continental breakfast, courtesy of Citarella, before this inspiring morning of conversation, culture, and cuisine. The talk will be followed by a book signing in the lobby, and books can be purchased in advance or on site.
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Kwame Onwuachi
Kwame Onwuachi is a James Beard Award-winning chef, restaurateur, and author. He was named a Food & Wine’s Best New Chef, Esquire Magazine’s 2019 Chef of the Year, a 30 Under 30 honoree by both Zagat and Forbes, and he was recently announced on Time’s 100 Most Influential People of 2025.
Raised in New York City, Nigeria, and Louisiana, he creates ground-breaking Afro-Caribbean cuisine inspired by his ancestors and upbringing with intentionality and purpose behind every dish. Onwuachi’s restaurant, Tatiana was named the "#1 Restaurant in New York" by the New York Times two years in a row.
His DC restaurant, Dōgon earned a spot as #2 on Washingtonian’s list of Best Restaurants in D.C., and is on Condé Nast Traveler’s Best New Restaurants in the World: 2025 Hot List.
His most recent venture, Patty Palace by Chef Kwame, is now in Citi Field, and Onwuachi also plans to expand his restaurant portfolio to Miami with Las'Lap and the West Coast with a partnership with SAHARA Las Vegas.
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Florence Fabricant
Florence Fabricant, a food and wine writer for the New York Times, contributes the weekly Front Burner and Off the Menu columns, is a member of the wine panel and writes the pairings column for the wine tastings. She frequently writes features that appear in the Food section and also covers food and travel elsewhere in the Times. She has written 13 cookbooks. This spring, her latest, The Ladies Village Improvement Society Cookbook: Eating and Entertaining in East Hampton" to celebrate the 125th anniversary of LVIS was published by Rizzoli. Other books include Wine with Food, based on the New York Times pairings columns and written with Eric Asimov and The City Harvest Cookbook, both published by Rizzoli. She actually began her career as a food writer in East Hampton, contributing the column In Season to the East Hampton Star. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Smith College, she has an M.A. in French from New York University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. She holds L’Ordre National du Mérite from the French government, is on the Board of Trustees of Guild Hall in East Hampton, N.Y., and is a member of Who’s Who of Food and Beverage in America. (New York, NY). She lives in Manhattan and East Hampton, N.Y., and has two children and two grandchildren.
Photo: Fred Conrad for The New York Times
Sponsors
Lead Sponsor: Ciuffo Cabinetry
Supporting Sponsors: Citarella, Julie Raynor Gross
Media Partner: Purist
Performing Arts programs are supported by 2026 season sponsors Galia Meiri-Stawski and Axel Stawski, with additional lead support from Henry and Peggy Schleiff, The Melville Straus Family Endowment, Monica and Peter Tessler, and Vital Projects Fund.
Additional support provided by Friends of the Theater:
Natascia Ayers and Jim Ciquera, Bonnie and Joel Bergstein, Gene Bernstein and Kathy Walsh, Amy Cooney and Marty Feinman, John and Joan D’Addario, Suzanne and John Golden, Hilarie and Mitchell Morgan, Steve Pesner, in memory of his wife, Michèle Pesner, whose entire life was devoted to all aspects of culture, The Schaffner Family Foundation, Lisa Schultz and Ezriel Kornel, Stacey and Oliver Stanton, and Susi and Peter Wunsch.
