Nigerian-American Kwame Onwuachi released a memoir this year called “Notes From a Young Black Chef,” and Lakeith Stanfield will star in the film adaptation.
The memoir tells the story of Onwuachi’s parents sending him to Nigeria after getting into some trouble as a kid, and when he returns he’s still lured by the temptations of street life.
But Onwuachi was eventually able to turn things around and secured a job as a chef aboard a Deepwater Horizon cleanup ship in Louisiana. From there, he’d work in some of the top restaurants in New York and other places, where he had to deal with being the only minority.
By the time Onwuachi was 26, he opened and closed his first restaurant within months and was also a contestant on the series “Top Chef.” The now-29-year-old won the 2019 James Beard Award for Rising Chef of the Year On the heels of his success at his restaurant Kith and Kin in Washington, D.C.
Stanfield will play the young chef and be an executive producer in the upcoming film. Onwuachi, meanwhile, will wear a producer hat.
Some might note that Stanfield’s name is still buzzing since the release of the 2018 film “Sorry to Bother You,” which he starred in.
Reportedly, one of his next projects will be “Knives Out,” a murder mystery. Then he’ll co-star with Issa Rae in the romantic comedy “The Photograph,” slated to hit theaters next year.
Stanfield shared news of playing Onwuachi in a July 15 Instagram post and told everyone why the film will be important to watch.
“One of the top young chefs on the planet is Black. So very excited to help bring his story to life, and to inspire all those who feel like the only thing they can be is the lie they were fed,” wrote Stanfield.
“If you ever need to know what it means to be a G it’s moving through extreme conditions, opps, and adversity and still being able to say I love you at the end of the day,” he added. “Legggggooooo.”
