5 Afro-Latin Chefs You Should Know

In the kitchen, few cultures mingle as effortlessly as the flavors of Africa and Latin America. Think of the common ground ingredients—from plantains to peppers, tropical fruits to tubers. And there are a fair amount of chefs influenced by both cultures as well: some who specialize in the overlap, and others who have used the blend as building blocks, as it’s simply a part of their heritage. Here are just a few African/Latin chefs making their mark in the US.

Govind Armstrong

It’s no mystery why Govind Armstrong’s name is synonymous with California cuisine; the LA-based chef started in the kitchen of Wolfgang Puck’s Spago at the age of 13. But despite the influence that Puck and Los Angeles exerted on his cooking, Armstrong told Time Out magazine that he “craves” the food he grew up with in Costa Rica. In the professional kitchen, he nods to the soul food of the southern US at restaurants Post & Beam and Willie Jane, and does true-blue American proud at his 8 ounce Burger Bars.

Nilton Borges, Jr.

Rio de Janeiro native Nilton Borges, Jr., “Junior,” as he likes to be called, has said that his grandmother had a heavy influence on his palate as a child. She came from Salvador da Bahia, the hub of Afro-Brazilian culture in the country, serving Junior dishes such as caruru, a shrimp and okra stew. Today, however, he favors the flavors of the Mediterranean at New York City’s Amali, wowing critics with his fresh, sustainably-driven cuisine. Wine and Spirits magazine called the restaurant a “New and Notable Newcomer,” and the ambitious Borges has also had the honor of cooking at the James Beard Foundation.

Next, three more chefs to watch…

Wheeler del Torro

The influence of Wheeler del Torro on the food world right now is multi-faceted. After bursting onto the scene with his dairy-free ice cream in the book, The Vegan Scoop, he became the pop-up king of Boston with the Afro-Cuban eatery Barrio, a culinary expression of his heritage (he is also Jamaican and Native American). Barrio proved so popular that it is currently on tour, hitting cities around the world, among them New York, Austin, Miami and Geneva. 

Gillian Clark

Gillian Clark is adept at making fresh starts. In her early 30s she changed careers and began cooking professionally, a bold move that is chronicled in her memoir, Out of the Frying Pan, which was released in a Kindle edition last summer. She went on to open the successful DC-area restaurants Colorado Kitchen and General Store, before recently heading to the west coast to helm Sue Ann’s Kitchen, an American restaurant in Orange County. There, Clark is turning out classics such as crab cakes and Maine lobster pot pie. Originally from Long Island, Clark credits her West Indian/Panamanian roots for giving her a work ethic that allows her to also raise two children, contribute to the Huffington Post, and write another book, about which we’re eagerly waiting to hear more.

Joseph Johnson

One of New York City’s rising stars, Joseph “JJ” Johnson, appears very comfortable combining cultures in the kitchen. At The Cecil, the chef de cuisine cooks Afro-Asian-American fare such as gumbo with smoked turkey, Chinese chicken sausage, gulf shrimp and crabmeat. The ambitious young chef was recently a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, coming into the spotlight after winning the cooking reality show Rocco’s Dinner Party. Cecil owner Alexander Smalls also took notice, immediately hiring him and taking him on a 16-day trip to Ghana to explore West African cuisine. Johnson also invokes his African-Puerto Rican roots on the menu for dishes with a Caribbean flare.