Chef to Chef—In Conversation with Omar Tate and Cybille St. Aude-Tate

Photo Credit: @elenawolfe

“It was always my goal to use food as a means to discuss ideas that were important to me,” says chef Omar Tate. Recently named Esquire’s Chef of the Year for 2020 and included in the TIME100 Next list, Omar first made a name for himself in the highly competitive Manhattan restaurant scene with his widely acclaimed Honeysuckle pop-up dining experience. His wife and business partner, noted chef and author Cybille St. Aude-Tate, adds, “Cooking is always a method for me to connect with my ancestry...It also allows me to share a part of myself with others in the same way.” Today, Omar and Cybille are bringing those goals and experiences to life in innovative new ways to create a positive impact on their community.

When the tough reality of COVID hit the NYC restaurant industry, the couple decided to move back to Omar’s hometown of Philadelphia. There, they found fresh inspiration and opportunities to make connections between food, art, family and storytelling in the community. Their crowd-funded Honeysuckle Provisions, a multifaceted brick-and-mortar concept celebrating Black food and culture, is slated to open in West Philly later this year and will include a café, market, library and performance space.

We recently sat down with Omar and Cybille to learn more about their journey as married chefs and innovators forging a new path during unprecedented times.

Q: As chefs who are renowned for connecting food and art, tell us more about your views of cooking as a way of storytelling.
Cybille: Cooking has always historically been a method for folks to transfer memories and stories through generations. For me specifically, I learned mostly about Haiti and my family connections through stories told by my mother over the stove or at the kitchen table. Even to this day, when she’s speaking of an ingredient or dish, she recollects a moment from her past or a family story that I’ve never heard before and it’s remarkable! The various aspects of culture are great in the way that they can connect generations through our senses.

Omar: Humans are social creatures that need to communicate in every way possible, and it was always my goal to use food as a means to discuss ideas that were important to me through cooking as a medium...I think that the meal is the best place to tell stories because of the ability to tell and have them received through the multitude of our senses. The best chefs are artists who use this forum to impart upon the diner an experience that allows one to leave with more than they came with.

Q: What do you love about working as a chef and who have been some important influences in your professional journeys?
Cybille: I love being able to create something magical out of the simplest of ingredients. Cooking is a transfer of energies and being able to evoke emotion in someone else through a dish that I’ve handcrafted is enchanting for everyone involved! I’m always so influenced by the things that evoke emotion out of me! History, music, scent, experiences, memories and loved ones have been very powerful in shaping my career thus far.

Omar: I love that I am able to be satisfied in all of my passions and interests at the same time. I love art, education and science—but I also love competition, camaraderie and brotherhood. I did not go to college or cooking school, so my experience with the restaurant industry is entwined with my coming of age. There are many influences who have helped shape my life—from chefs to dishwashers to guests. But the ones who have primarily influenced me and the current space that I occupy are Edna Lewis, Dr. Jessica B. Harris and my mother.

Q: Tell us about Honeysuckle Provisions!
Cybille: Honeysuckle Provisions is an opportunity to transform communities and place an emphasis on being a resource to those who need it. It’s a holistic approach to taking up space in West Philadelphia that places the needs of the people at the forefront. The people of our community deserve access to good and healthy food. They deserve an abundance of wellness and health programs targeting major diseases and ailments. They deserve space with innovative design and an infrastructure that holds cultural significance and provides reverence of our ancestors and those who pioneered before us.

Omar: I’ve studied how food has played a role in the development of American society. Throughout history, food has been manipulated and weaponized against populations worldwide. This is also true for Black folks. I feel a strong obligation to use my many skills and talents towards a self determined realization of Black equity and excellence in the neighborhoods and spaces that we’ve been forced into. The grocery store needs to be reimagined to serve communities more holistically. We seek to build Honeysuckle as a distinct source of pride and empowerment in our community.

Q: What are some of the ways food and cooking connect you with heritage and community, near and far?
Cybille: Cooking is always a method for me to connect with my ancestry. I learn so much about Haitian culture and history through the food. It also allows me to share a part of myself with others in that same way. It reminds me of how my parents had to do something similar being so far away from their home when they immigrated to the US in the ’80s. They used food and gatherings as an opportunity to create community and to connect with loved ones all over the world, just as Omar and I plan to do with Honeysuckle and our community in West Philly.

Omar: I needed food to reconnect with my ancestors. I did not know much about my family or heritage until the pursuit of that knowledge through tracing southern culinary foundations. The journey took me down south on multiple trips as part of a lifelong exercise of understanding many aspects of Black history, heritage and culture.

Q: Clearly, you inspire each other, personally and professionally. What are some of the ways that you have influenced, learned from and inspired each other during this challenging year?
Cybille: I’m inspired by Omar’s vision and his ability to persevere through any obstacle to forge his own lane. He understands the necessity for our work and isn’t swayed by what others think or how they perceive what we’re attempting to accomplish. There’s power in not having to compromise on your goals due to outside pressure, and I love watching him manifest that. It makes us stronger as individuals, as a company, and most importantly as a family.

Omar: Honestly, my life would be very different if not for Cybille. She teaches me how to look at things more objectively, how to love, how to be patient. She has brought me closer to the Africanisms in my thinking and food by teaching me about Haiti and Haitian culture. She is extremely creative, and because she is such a broad thinker, the things that she produces are usually constructed by things that I haven’t considered; with that she keeps me on my toes. I could go on and on about our exchanges but overall our love is the most inspiring thing to me everyday.

Thank you, Cybille and Omar!

Read more from our Chef to Chef series with Paola Velez and Cheryl Day, and Cedric Harden and Latrice McArthur.