A Movie About Nigerian-American Chef, Kwame Onwuachi Is In The Works

Kwame Onwuachi’s rise to stardom has been nothing short of phenomenal. He’s the 2019 ‘Rising Chef of the Year’, and his journey is chronicled in his memoir, Notes From a Young Black Chef, which he co-wrote with Joshua David Stein.

Well, production house, A24 — behind acclaimed movies like Room, Moonlight, Lady Bird and Hereditary — has now picked up the memoir for adaptation into a feature film, with Atlanta breakout star, Lakeith Stanfield playing Onwuachi.

Kwame Onwuachi (Photo: Robb Report)

Notes From a Young Black Chef follows Onwuachi’s incredibly inspiring journey from a rough childhood in the Bronx with his mostly single mother, to him opening a fine-dining restaurant in Washington D.C. at the impresive age of 26.

The story encompasses the highs and lows of his path to becoming a chef in a mostly white, elitist industry, including financing his first catering business by selling candy on the subway, appearing on Top Chef, and his first restaurant closing just 11 weeks after opening.

His current restaurant, Kith/Kin takes inspiration from Nigerian foods as well. He revealed in an interview that his mother sent him to Delta State in Nigeria, at a young age, to live with his grandfather, and that’s how he learned how to make traditional Nigerian food.

Lakeith Stanfield is an incredible choice to play Onwuachi. He’s brought depth to all his roles — from Sorry to Bother You to FX’s Emmy-winning comedy, Atlanta, where he happens to also play a Nigerian-American. We cannot wait to see what he does with this one.