Today we’d like to introduce you to Demetrius Brown.
Hi Demetrius, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I grew up mostly in Providence Rhode Island, although I spent a lot of my childhood in Georgia as well. Providence is where I get a lot of my identity and inspiration from. My mother was a single parent of three, so she had to work multiple jobs and that naturally left my siblings and I with cooking duties if she didn’t have time to prepare something for us before she went to work. I remember being in high school and I’d be cooking for the family at least twice a week; that’s when I fell in love with food, with my grandfather’s guidance, I decided to go to culinary school at Johnson & Wales University in Providence RI. Since graduating, I quickly climbed the ranks from line cook to executive chef by the age of 25.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Definitely not, I’ve experienced racism, being underpaid, undervalued, and overlooked all because of my age and color of my skin. It’s been a long and arduous journey to get to this point in my career, but through all the hardships and difficulties, I’ve managed to navigate and carve out a path not only for myself but hopefully for the next generation of black and brown chefs.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am the Chef/Owner of Heritage Supper Club which is a pop-up restaurant that aims to highlight and elevate the food of the African diaspora. At Heritage, we make our way through the African Diaspora by way of 7 and 8 course tasting menus.
We are different because we want to serve food that has more purpose than just being tasting, of course the food is good but we strive for each course to tell a story and have a true purpose and identity.
The thing that I’m most proud of is our ability to highlight the difficulties my people have had to endure for centuries over a plate of food.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
I listen to music a lot and that’s kind of my happy place outside of the kitchen. I’m a huge fan of Big K.R.I.T., Whitney Huston, and J. Cole.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.HeritageSupperClub.com
- Instagram: Heritage.atl
