Kwame Onwuachi, the acclaimed head chef of NYC’s Tatiana, recently spoke to Ebony about his upcoming culinary establishment set to open in Washington D.C.’s Salamander Resort location later this year.
The new offering, Dōgon, will be a blend of the diaspora paying homage to D.C.’s strong Black presence and Nigeria’s Dōgon tribe through Afro-Caribbean cuisine. The publication noted that critics believe the upscale restaurant is ushering in Onwuachi’s “comeback” to the District after “things didn’t go as planned with a previous restaurant.”
Regardless of their perception, the chef seems self-assured. He said, “How can it be a comeback story if I never left?”
What Can Visitors Expect From Dōgon?
“Chef Kwame Onwuachi is no stranger to pushing boundaries, but at his new Washington, D.C. restaurant, he will also honor them and the West African lineage that helped draw the borders of the District of Columbia,” says the Salamander. “The acclaimed chef makes his highly anticipated return to the nation’s capital with a concept inspired by D.C. Surveyor Benjamin Banneker and his heritage to the West African Dōgon tribe. Pronounced ‘Doh-gon,’ the restaurant will serve vibrant cuisine through an Afro-Caribbean lens and draw from Onwuachi’s unique Nigerian, Jamaican, Trinidadian and Creole background.”
Onwuachi is a former contestant and judge on Bravo’s hit show Top Chef. He was included in Forbes’ 30 Under 30 in 2017 and named Esquire’s 2019 Chef of the Year. The James Beard-recognized chef is also the author of his memoir Notes from a Young Black Chef and cookbook My America: Recipes from a Young Black Chef. In 2021, he joined Food & Wine as an executive producer.
The culinary mogul is the creator of The Family Reunion, an annual multi-day food festival at the Salamander’s Middleburg, Virginia resort. The fourth edition will take place this year from August 15 to 18.
In his Ebony interview, the chef said his cooking style was “delicious, exciting, unapologetically me.”
The Michelin Guide describes the “centerpiece” oxtail and its dressings on his Tatiana menu as “a proper feast.”
