8 Inspiring Black Chefs Elevating NYC Food Pop-ups
Black-owned businesses have been a major key to the NYC food industry for centuries. In the last couple years, many chefs have ditched traditional restaurants to pursue the road of entrepreneurship through pop-ups and we’ve been able to see so much black talent shine. For Black History Month, we wanted to celebrate eight Black Chefs in the NYC food industry who are changing the game through their pop-ups that are always featured in the 8it app.
Rasheeda Purdie
Ramen by Rā
📸: @steve8it
For Harlem native Rasheeda Purdie, ramen is a canvas for innovation. Having previously held many different roles in the restaurant industry, including back of house, hosting, and management, she is now teaching ramen demo classes with The Institute of Culinary Education and taking NYC by storm with her ramen pop-up series’. Last month, she beat Chef Daniel Le of Essex Pearl in his own backyard at the Ramen vs. Pho showdown. Her most recent series, Rise + Dine, sold out every seating over a two month period while changing our idea of brunch for good. It featured bowls of ramen with flavors that mimicked a classic American brunch (think Bacon Egg N' Cheese, BLT, and Steak & Eggs Ramen) and a vibe that did the complete opposite. It was an antidote to the bottomless mimosa-crushing brunch we typically see all over NYC. Purdie enveloped her guests with relaxing elements like hot tea, burning sage, and a Jazz playlist she curated herself. Get your chopsticks ready, because the Rise + Dine series is set to restart in the Spring.
📸: Angela Bankhead (@abankhead)
Bacon Egg N’ Cheese Ramen at Rise + Dine
Kevin Morgan
Kitchen Time Kev
📸: Dave Jeffers (@davefotogram)
Kevin Morgan makes one of the most in-demand burgers in NYC right now and it just became less elusive. Every Wednesday through Saturday from 6PM until late, you can catch him at Rise Radio on the edge of Williamsburg. Smoked wings and loaded fries flank his outrageously stacked burger lineup, which features a vegan option, a turkey burger, and the Onion Burger done Oklahoma-style with onions smashed into the patties, topped with more caramelized onions, and crunchy, tart dill pickles for a sweet and sour finish. We first met Kev smashing burgers on a small electric flat-top range out the back patio of Turtles All The Way Down in Bed-Stuy and that burger made a statement; he didn’t need a fancy set up to make an outstanding product. As always, we’ll be featuring his pop-ups in the 8it app.
📸: Reece Armstrong
The Onion Burger by Kitchen Time Kev
Jase Franklyn
Jase’s BBQ
📸: @jasebbq
Barbecue phenom Jase Franklyn attracts some serious star power. Bizarre Foods host Andrew Zimmern (pictured) was left awestruck by his specialty, barbecued pig tails, and New York’s own Jadakiss called his barbecue “the best in the world” this past year. The flavors of Jase’s homeland, Trinidad & Tobago, give his barbecue the kind of bite we keep coming back for, and he’s never afraid to pull off something unexpected: like when he won Best Bite at Pig Island NYC with tamarind sauce pulled pork on a tostada. One of the leaders in the ever-growing New York City barbecue scene, Jase’s BBQ is a top priority when it comes to eating the best food in New York City right now. Make sure to turn your 8it app notifications on so you don’t miss his next pop-up.
📸: @jasebbq
Ribs by Jase’s BBQ
Anya Peters
Kit an’ Kin
📸: Loisa
Culinary artist Anya Peters tells food stories through multiple mediums including her pop-ups, collages, and films. Her work celebrates Caribbean identity, as she collects histories from her half-Trini, half-Jamaican family and shares them through food. Menus at her Kit an’ Kin pop-ups feature dishes like escovitch fish, succulent jerk chicken, double flatbreads with curried chickpeas, and creative twists like plantain nachos. Music is usually close by wherever you catch Anya, like at her pop-ups at the Flatbush Central Caribbean Marketplace and The Jungle at Sleepwalk. Through Kit an’ Kin, she shares and reinforces Caribbean culture in New York, providing a rich, meaningful experience to match her delicious food.
📸: @kitankin
Smoked jerk hens by Kit an’ Kin
Kia Damon
Kiacooks
📸: Jacques Morel @jmorel_jr
Self-taught Chef Kia Damon came to NYC from Florida, becoming the Executive Chef of Lalito at 24 years old, and boy, are we lucky to have her. Since then, she served as the Culinary Director at Cherry Bombe, a media company highlighting women in food, started two non-profits dedicated to food security, and hosted a food and travel TV show for CNN and Destination Canada, all while continuing to wow us with her pop-ups. Most recently, her Florida Water dinner series brought the flavors of her home state to Brooklyn, shining light on a previously under-appreciated cuisine. The quality and command of ingredients she demonstrated with each dish, from lemon peppa’ shrimp with ranch to mango curd with fresh mango and mango meringue, packed every bite with love and care, making it one of those meals where you feel like you’re eating in the chef’s kitchen. A force to be reckoned with in both media and food, this February, Kia is the guest host of the Womanica podcast where she’ll be sharing the stories of Black women in food whose contributions shaped the culinary world.
📸: Reece Armstrong
Lemon peppa’ shrimp by Kia Cooks
Christopher Martin
Cmartys Jerk
📸: @cmartysjerk
Christopher Martin’s jerk pop-up emerged from his seasonings business and grew rapidly during the global pandemic. Since then, he’s been holding it down at King Tai Bar every Wednesday through Friday with jerk pork and chicken tacos, and his famous jerk banh mi, which he invented after learning how to make banh mis through a VICE video. He adds escovitch to the pickled daikon and carrots typical of a banh mi, makes a jerk Mayo and adds jerk marinated meat grilled over an open charcoal flame to put a Jamaican spin on the classic. Did we mention Cmartys Jerk merch is str8 🔥?
📸: @cmartysjerk
Jerk Banh Mi by Cmartys Jerk
Abou Sow
Prince Abou’s Butchery
After starting off by selling meat on Instagram, Abou Sow opened Prince Abou’s butchery this past July, but for years he was told that the butcher game was on lock. Many of NYC’s butcheries have been around for decades and gaining clientele would be a steep hill to climb for the new kid on the block. Nonetheless Prince Abou’s is thriving as one of the few Black-owned butcher shops in NYC. You can get some of the freshest meat in the city there as every animal is slaughtered by halal standards, harvested, cut, and available for purchase within one week. Along with his nose-to-tail retail business, the shop hosts pop-ups often in collaboration with Tikkun BBQ, and butchery classes that educate the community. Of all the meats available at Prince Abou’s, his unique specialty, lamb bacon has become a crowd favorite, and it’s available on a bacon egg & cheese at the Flatbush Central Caribbean Marketplace on Saturdays. Tikkun BBQ will be popping up this Wednesday smashing Abou’s burgers at the butchery.
Smash burger by Prince Abou’s Butchery x Tikkun BBQ
Ben Harney
The Real MotherShuckers
📸: Black-Owned Brooklyn
Oyster carts were as popular in 19th century New York as hot dog and halal carts are now. It was an industry dominated by African-Americans and Ben Harney is reclaiming that history. His oyster cart pop-up, The Real MotherShuckers, is a throwback selling oysters on the half shell at BK Lobster, Sahadi’s, and Luke’s Lobster, but it’s building towards a bigger future. According to The New York Times, the waters surrounding NYC used to be home to around 350 square miles of oyster beds, much of which has disappeared. But through the Billion Oyster Project, which Harney contributes to with his empty shells, oyster populations are on the rise again, with the goal of restoring a billion oysters to NYC waters by 2035. A shucker, activist, and historian, Ben Harney is outspoken about the rich black history that intertwines with shellfish in New York City, a history that he is now very much a part of.
Oysters by The Real MotherShuckers
All eight of these chef’s pop-ups are featured on the 8it app in the pop-ups & drops category. Make sure to turn on app notifications so you don’t miss their upcoming pop-ups. Whether Black History month or not, we should always continue supporting Black-Owned Restaurants all year long:
Click here to see the top dishes at Black-owned restaurants in NYC