10 Black Chefs Who Brought Soul Food to the Global Stage

Soul food is a cuisine that has been passed down through generations and is based on ingenuity. It portrays a story of survival, creativity, and joy. Today, Black chefs all over the world continue that tradition by bringing the tastes of the American South to diners all around the world. They honor their traditions while pushing the limits of cooking, changing what comfort food means in fine dining and beyond. These ten chefs have made soul food better with their creativity, skill, and pride, showing that food from your own culture can become famous all around the world.

1. Marcus Samuelsson

Marcus Samuelsson was born in Ethiopia and reared in Sweden. He has made a name for himself around the world by mixing cultures via food. His Harlem restaurant, Red Rooster, serves African American food with a global twist, like fried yardbird, cornbread, and collard greens with spice and delicacy. Samuelsson talks on how important soul food is to culture and serves it in a classy way without sacrificing its originality. He has taught people all around the world about the soulful essence of Black food through books, TV, and being a mentor.

2. Carla Hall

Carla Hall, who is best known for her roles on Top Chef and The Chew, adds warmth, humor, and honesty to soul food. She is a classically trained chef who combines traditional Southern recipes with modern techniques. She puts love at the center of her cooking. Carla Hall’s Soul Food is a book that emphasizes comfort food that is good for the body and the soul. Hall’s philosophy, “cook with love, serve with joy,” has spread around the world, encouraging cooks to embrace soul food as both a cultural tradition and a work of art on every dish.

3. Kwame Onwuachi

Kwame Onwuachi is a new kind of food writer. He redefines soul food with global origins by drawing on his Nigerian, Jamaican, and Creole heritage. His well-known restaurant projects and memoir Notes from a Young Black Chef shows off meals like egusi stew and jambalaya next to each other, honoring the flavors of the Black diaspora. Onwuachi’s menus connect people from all parts of the world and remind them that African-inspired food was the basis for American cuisine and is still shaping modern eating culture.

4. Edna Lewis

Edna Lewis was a big fan of seasonal Southern cooking long before the phrase “farm-to-table” became popular. The Taste of Country Cooking, her iconic book, educated the world that fresh greens, garden vegetables, and slow-braised meats are just as good as fancy food. Lewis didn’t think of soul food as poor cooking; he thought of it as heritage cookery that came from a connection to family and the land. Her graceful, thoughtful style inspired cooks all across the world to cook with purpose and reverence for the past.

5. Leah Chase

Leah Chase, who passed away, was a cook and a civil rights leader. She was renowned as the “Queen of Creole Cuisine.” She served gumbo, fried chicken, and po’boys to activists, presidents, and artists at her famous New Orleans restaurant, Dooky Chase’s. Her kitchen was a place where food and progress came together. Chase showed that Southern and Creole food could hold its own with the best in the world. Her legacy lives on in the chefs she inspired to use food to celebrate their culture.

6. Sylvia Woods

Sylvia Woods started Sylvia’s Restaurant in Harlem and developed a little lunch spot into a world-famous soul cuisine restaurant. She was known for her fried chicken, collard greens, and peach cobbler, which made real comfort food available to everyone. Her restaurant became a cultural center where people from all over the world could feel the authentic warmth of Southern hospitality. Woods established an empire based on family and flavor, showing that simple dishes can bring people together across cultures.

7. Patrick Clark

Patrick Clark took soul food to the next level without sacrificing its essence. He was one of the first African American chefs to become famous in high-end kitchens across the country. He did this by combining French cooking skills with American products. His food—rich braised meats, fancy sauces, and cornbread-based dishes—pushed the limits at high-end restaurants. Clark’s impact helped many Black chefs get their start, proving that the tastes of home could be served with pride at the most beautiful tables in the world.

8. Deborah VanTrece

Chef Deborah VanTrece has turned comfort cuisine into a topic of debate throughout the world. Twisted Soul Cookhouse & Pours, her restaurant in Atlanta, puts a new spin on Southern favorites by using flavors from around the world. For example, jerk-spiced ribs and curry deviled eggs. She thinks that soul food is always changing because of migration and remembrance. VanTrece’s method shows how traditional Black cookery changes when it crosses boundaries yet stays true to its roots. Her menus honor both her family’s past and her own exploration, reminding everyone that soul food is living history.

9. Michael Twitty

Michael Twitty is a chef, author, and food historian who links soul food to its African and American roots. The Cooking Gene, an award-winning book, looks at identity, heritage, and how Southern food has changed throughout time. Twitty shows off old-fashioned recipes while wearing period costume in commemoration of enslaved cooks whose abilities molded the cuisine of early America. His research connects cuisine and history, helping people all over the world comprehend that every mouthful of soul food is a work of art and a sign of strength that has lasted for generations.

10. Tiffany Derry

Chef Tiffany Derry is a modern advocate for Southern food that is both simple and elegant. She is known for her restaurant Roots Southern Table and her appearances on Top Chef. She is a promoter of honest, flavor-forward cuisine that use seasonal vegetables and traditional ingredients. Derry is a business-savvy person that loves diversity in the hospitality industry. Her colorful new takes on gumbo, okra, and greens show that soulful cooking should be in homes and in famous restaurants all around the world.