Chef Johnson has since branched out after his time at The Cecil. He was the first chef to kick off the royalty residency at MGM Resorts in Las Vegas. It was a truly innovative concept, where people could get a dish or two out of the restaurants on the MGM property, similar to what an artist or singer might do. This partnership with MGM was meant to bring more Black people, more Black chefs and business owners to Vegas. And it has been a smashing success so far. He has also spent considerable time in front of the TV camera. He feels that if one wants to cook at home, why not do that with him on TV and gain a different perspective? His show Just Eats is fun and approachable, focusing on things you can do with family, friends, or even on a date night. He also opened a restaurant called Field Trip in Harlem, New York City in 2019. Its slogan, “rice is culture,” is a nod to the popularity of rice all over the world, from Ghana, Singapore, India, China to Israel and beyond. Everyone celebrates this important crop. That excitement seems to be lacking in the United States, so he wants to revive this idea by serving all the good rice—freshly milled and neither enriched nor bleached. By doing that, he hopes to make serving heritage rice like Carolina gold fashionable, just as the Indians proudly serve Basmati rice at their table.
Crab Pockets
Sweet Baby Plantains
The idea of culture is heavily intertwined with the idea of inclusivity. To Chef Johnson, where someone is from, what they look like, and what culture they belong to should not dictate the price of their food. Is the food really good? Does the restaurant offer good hospitality? Does it hit the mark of what they want to provide? If so, they should be able to charge what they believe they are worth. That should be the correct rating, not some highly-publicized and well-known published list. “Certain types of food can’t break a certain threshold for price. Like charging $40 for a curry chicken, people would cringe. But we see it happen all the time. With people outside the [indigenous] culture or Eurocentric guys that will cook curry chicken, charge $45, and nobody questions it,” he says. “And that’s just not fair to the mom-and-pop shops out there in the world. The people who worked really hard, the grandmas that created the curry. [They] are not allowed to charge over $17… because there’s a perception of food.” For young people who are looking to open a restaurant or a new business, he has a few suggestions. First, raise more money than one believes is necessary. Most people in the food business are raising capital for three to six months of operating expenses, but that is not enough time to learn about the customer. In order to build the demand, the money is not going to be made back in the first three months. Second, listen to the customers. What one is working on may not be what the market wants. And some surprise items may turn out much better than expected, and “you got to just roll with it sometimes.” Though the economy is tough, with prices skyrocketing, Chef Johnson is staying aggressive. He is working on expanding Field Trip to more locations within the New York metropolitan area, He is also trying to have a bigger play in the media world as well as developing other restaurant concepts. “I say I’m trying to be in the food industry for as long as Wolfgang Puck,” he says. If Chef Puck’s career is his blueprint, then Chef Johnson is building quite an impressive empire!
Gumbo
@CHEFJJ @FIELDTRIPUSA @DIGITALWONG
King Crab Bowl
94
95
Powered by FlippingBook