Chef Kwame Onwuachi to share new cookbook during La Salle library program

Award-winning chef Kwame Onwuachi will discuss his new cookbook “My America: Recipes from a Young Black Chef” during a virtual program at 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 22, hosted by La Salle Public Library in partnership with Illinois Libraries Presents.

Onwuachi’s cookbook features more than 125 recipes and celebrates the cuisine of the African diaspora as handed down through Onwuachi’s family history. Born on Long Island and raised in New York City, Nigeria and Louisiana, he first was exposed to cooking by his mother in the family’s Bronx apartment. Onwuachi will share stories behind his family’s recipes and the importance of the connections between cuisine, place and culture.

Onwuachi is a James Beard Award-winning chef and a former “Top Chef” contestant. He was named Food & Wine’s best new chef in 2019 and Esquire’s chef of the year in 2019. He has opened several restaurants and was the executive chef at acclaimed Kith/Kin in Washington, D.C.

The free program will be presented online via Zoom and is open to all members of the public. To register, visit bit.ly/June22_KwameOnwuachi. For information, call the library at 815-223-2341.

This program is presented through a partnership with Illinois Libraries Present, a statewide collaboration among public libraries. Illinois Libraries Present is funded in part by a grant awarded by the Illinois State Library, a department of the Office of Secretary of State, using funds provided by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services, under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act.