Damarr Brown

Damarr Brown is an American chef. In 2022 he was named one of the country's best new chefs by Food & Wine and in 2023 he was named the James Beard Foundation's Emerging Chef.

Early life and education

Brown was born in Germany and grew up in Harvey, Illinois.^[2][1] He is an only child and was raised by his mother, grandmother, and aunt, all of whom encouraged his interest in cooking.^[2][3][1] His mother set Chopped-style challenges for him, purchasing a variety of ingredients and telling him to produce a dish with them.^[4][5] His grandmother was born in Mississippi, and he learned to cook Black southern cuisine from her.^[6]

Brown graduated from Chicago's Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in 2011.^[2]

Career

Brown worked at mk in Chicago for seven years under Erick Williams, starting as an unpaid prep cook and eventually as garde manger and sous chef.^[2][6][1] With Williams' encouragement he moved to Roister for a year, and when Williams opened Virtue in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood in 2018, he hired Brown as chef de cuisine.^[2][6][7] Virtue serves Black southern cuisine.^[1] Esquire named it to their list of the best new restaurants in the country in 2019.^[8][9]

In 2022 Brown competed on Top Chef, coming in fourth behind Buddha Lo, Evelyn Garcia, and Sarah Welch; Brown was voted fan favorite.^[2][6] That same year, Food & Wine named him one of the country's best new chefs in 2022.^[10][11]

Brown and three other Black James Beard Award winners, including Williams, Gregory Gourdet, and Kwame Onwuachi created a popup restaurant showcasing cuisines of the African diaspora at the 2023 Aspen Food & Wine Classic.^[12]

Awards

In 2023 Brown was named Best Emerging Chef by the James Beard Foundation.^[3][13]

References