In a tribute to Black History Month, Central Market continues its Be the Change campaign, reflecting its commitment to workplace diversity and celebrating food and culture. Central Market is proud to celebrate and honor the contributions of Black culinary artists.

This year, Central Market is offering a FREE live online class and Q&A with Kwame Onwuachi, a James Beard Award-winning chef and former executive chef at Michelin-starred Kith/Kin. His latest restaurant, Tatiana, opened in November 2022 in New York City. Onwuachi is an acclaimed author of “Notes from a Young Black Chef: A Memoir” and “My America: Recipes from a Young Black Chef” and has appeared on Top Chef as both a contestant and a guest judge. On February 29 from 6 – 7:30 p.m., Chef Kwame will teach viewers at home how to make a Creole- and Caribbean-inspired meal influenced by his heritage, Turn’ Cornmeal with Seared Snapper and Sauce Creole. Participants must RSVP to join the class, submit questions, and learn how to cook alongside Chef Kwame Onwuachi by registering online at Eventbrite.

Kwame Onwuachi is the James Beard Award-winning former executive chef at Kith/Kin and owner of the Philly Wing Fry franchise inWashington, D.C.His new restaurant, Tatiana, recently opened inNovemberof 2022 inNew York City.He was born on Long Island and raised in New York City, Nigeria, andLouisiana. Onwuachi was first exposed to cooking by his mother, in the family’s modest Bronx Apartment, and he took that spark of passion and turned it into a career. From toiling in the bowels of oil cleanup ships to working at some of the best restaurants in the world, he has seen and lived his fairshare of diversity. Onwuachi trained at the Culinary Institute of America and opened five restaurants before turning thirty. A former Top Chef contestant, he has been named one of Food & Wine’s Best NewChefs and a 30 Under 30 honoree by both Zagat and Forbes

Black History Month will be celebrated with an array of cooking classes available across all Central Market locations. The classes will be led by a Central Market instructor featuring unique flavors and recipes by Black chefs and cookbook authors throughout February, including:

Cook the Book: The Rise: Black Cooks and the Soul of the American Food – February 23, 6:30 – 9 p.m.
About this class: Experience a memorable evening cooking from Marcus Samuelsson’s cookbook, which showcases the creativity of Black chefs and writers. In a small team, prepare peanut-coconut-chile dip with spiced plantains, glazed pan-seared halibut, coconut rice grits, orange-roasted carrots, and a rum-soaked cake.

Menu

Lagos Plantains
with Yaji (Suya Spice) Dip (Nigeria)

Gold Coconut Broken Rice
with Tamarind Glazed Halibut (West Africa)

Roasted Carrots
with Ayib (Ricotta-like Cheese)
& Awaze Vinaigrette (Ethiopia)

Montego Bay Rum Cake (Jamaica)

Cost: $85 per person

Couples Cook: A Spicy Crayfish Boil – February 24, 6:00 – 8:30 p.m.

About this class: Make a date to create a seafood feast based on recipes from Black chefs and cookbook authors. Working with a small team, you and your partner will make a salad that creates complex flavors from simple ingredients; assemble and cook a spicy crayfish boil; mix and bake a Jamaican bread similar to Parker House rolls; and execute an updated version of a traditional dessert.

Menu

Grapefruit-Radicchio Salad from
Marcus Samuelsson

Spicy Crayfish Boil with Crab, Potatoes & Chiles from Marcus Samuelsson

Jamaican Coco bread from
Kwame Onwuachi

Pineapple Upside Cake from Cheryl Day

Cost: $90 per person

Celebrate Black History Month with Brunch – February 25, 12:00 p.m. – 2:30 pm
About this class: Enjoy a special brunch with dishes from famous Black chefs and cookbook authors. Together with your team, make a silky, gluten-free egg dish, creamy grits, a winter salad with citrus and nuts, traditional corn muffins, and delicious cinnamon rolls. Conclude with a celebratory meal, choosing between a non-alcoholic shrub or a prosecco spritzer infused with grapes and herbs for those 21+.

Menu

Fonio, Kale & Caramelized Onion Frittata from Pierre Thiam

Stone Ground Grits from Alexander Smalls

Fennel & Citrus Salad with Almonds
& Dates from Bryant Terry

Corn Muffins from Edna Lewis
Sweet Potato Cinnamon Rolls from Kwame Onwuachi

Cost: $80 per person

A division of H-E-B, Central Market opened its doors in Austin, Texas in 1994. Central Market now has ten store locations across Texas, including Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Plano, and Southlake. Central Market’s open, serpentine-flow, full-view European-style layout offers a completely new food shopping experience. A bountiful produce department with unmatched quality and variety, an 80-foot seafood case with selections from throughout the world, hundreds of cheeses, 2,500 wine labels, stupendous specialty grocery aisles with delights from every continent, and a world-class cooking school featuring hands-on instruction are among the features that make the Central Market experience unique.