Saying Goodbye To The Kojo Nnamdi Show
On this last episode, we look back on 23 years of joyous, difficult and always informative conversation.
Jerome Grant, Sweet Home Cafe's executive chef, formerly led Mitsitam Cafe at the Museum of the American Indian.
Most museums play it safe when satisfying hungry visitors. Menus rarely stray from fried favorites, salads, sandwiches and other crowd-pleasing fare. But for Jerome Grant, executive chef of the Smithsonian’s new Museum of African American History and Culture, weaving history into a museum’s culinary offerings is an integral part of the visit. From his work at the Zagat-rated Mitsitsam Cafe at the National Museum of the American Indian to his new kitchen at the Sweet Home Cafe on the National Mall, Grant is upending visitors’ preconceived notions of African American cooking while putting his own thumbprint on D.C.’s thriving culinary scene. Kojo sits down with this Washington-area native to find out how he makes black history come alive at the Sweet Home Cafe and how Grant’s own story influences his cooking.
Guests
- Jerome Grant Executive Chef, Sweet Home Cafe, National Museum of African American History and Culture
Photos: Highlights from the African American History & Culture Museum's Sweet Home Cafe
Sweet Home Cafe Executive Chef Jerome Grant is a Washington-area native who says his Caribbean roots have influenced his cooking style.
The 400-seat cafe features foods from four regions: the North States, the Creole Coast, the Agricultural South and the Western Range
The Western range's "son-of-a-gun stew" was traditionally composed of offal and less desirable cuts of meat, but the cafe modernized the dish using braised short ribs, and vegetables.
The cafe's oyster pan roast ties in with an exhibit on Thomas Downing, a New York restaurant owner who was also connected with the Underground Railroad.
The Gospel Bird Platter includes buttermilk fried chicken, mac-n-cheese, greens and buttermilk biscuits.
A Lexington-style BBQ pork sandwich served with slaw and pickled okra from the cafe's Agricultural South section.
Chef Jerome Grant's version of gumbo comes with duck, andouille and crawfish.
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