"Honeysuckle began as a New York City pop-up dinner series that, as Omar Tate put it in an essay on Eater, 'explores the continuing narrative of the Black existence through food and storytelling.' During multicourse meals, Tate takes elements of African-American history and culture and puts them on the plate, like the homemade Kool-Aid that starts a meal, a nod to childhood and an acknowledgment of stigmas around Black food, or a 'New York Oyster circa 1826,' a dish that references the story of a freed man who sold oysters that year; he makes the narrative of each course apparent through poetry and storytelling. Honeysuckle will eventually become a community center in West Philadelphia (it's in fundraising stages) with the mission of claiming space for Black food in America. Currently, Tate is also the chef in residence at Blue Hill at Stone Barns." - Monica Burton
