Chef Kwame Onwuachi is using his platform to celebrate diversity in hospitality. This week, the celebrity chef partnered with the Black-owned Salamander Resorts & Spa to host the Family Reunion event with Food & Wine later this year.
Onwuachi shared the news of the event in excitement on his Instagram page with his followers. “I realized an absence of food events that really supported and highlighted black and brown contributions to the food industry. I met with @officialsheilajohnson
about a year ago and knew instantly that we had to do something together,” he wrote in a caption. “So we partnered up to create a 4-day all-inclusive food conference at @salamanderresort. There will be panel discussions, a main stage, breakout events, and fun outdoor activities.”The chef will be co-hosting with Salamander owner, Shelia Johnson, in Virginia
with a variety of events including wine tastings, panel discussions, and cooking demonstrations in August. A portion of the event’s proceeds will go to scholarship and mentorship programs that promote diversity within the hospitality industry.“Our remarkable, constantly renewing and evolving industry is as diverse as any other,” said Johnson in a press statement sent to BLACK ENTERPRISE. “But, we can, and should do more. Therefore, I’m immensely proud to partner with Food & Wine and Kwame Onwuachi and delighted Salamander Resort & Spa can provide a platform for thoughtful discussion about inclusion.”
Other notable
industry leaders in attendance include Tavel Bristol-Joseph, Carla Hall, Edouardo Jordan, Carlton McCoy, Gregory Gourdet, Mashama Bailey, Rodney Scott, Pierre Thiam, Nina Compton, and others. “We’re grateful to Kwame for bringing the idea of The Family Reunion to FOOD & WINE and thrilled to partner with him, Sheila, and the team at Salamander Hotels & Resorts to help produce the inaugural event in Virginia’s beautiful wine country,” said Food & Wine Editor-in-Chief Hunter Lewis in the statement. “The event’s mission aligns with FOOD & WINE’s commitment to empowering and uplifting more diverse voices in the culinary and food media industries.”