Charlie Mitchell has made history as a Black Michelin-starred chef in New York City.
According to Today, Mitchell, co-owner of Brooklyn Heights restaurant Clover Hill, recently won Michelin's 2022 New York Young Chef Award. He is the first Black chef in New York City to reach this feat.
The history maker dropped out of culinary school and perfected his craft in various restaurants around Manhattan. He eventually landed at Clover Hill, where he became the executive chef and created the restaurant's menu.
“I guess it was challenging but we’re always changing something or we’re always trying to make the dish the best version of itself, right? So we may tweak it every day for two weeks if we have to, to get it to be like the perfect dish,” Mitchell told TODAY.
Mitchell said he was unaware he was on the precipice of making history until after he was awarded Michelin-star status.
“I was not, not at the time,” he recalled. “You always think about the people, so many people have come before you. You just assume that someone has already done this, you know, it doesn’t cross your mind that you may be the first or second to do really anything, especially here in New York City.”
“I think a lot of times, we’re chasing a very different American dream, then to kind of put up with these aggressive environments that are often led by people who don’t look like us,” Mitchell added.
In addition to being Michelin’s 2022 New York Young Chef Award-Winner, Mitchell is also a finalist for a James Beard Award: Emerging Chef.
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