On Wednesday, February 22, the Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura Beverly Hills invited Chef Kwame Onwuachi out to collaborate on a special menu in honor of Black History Month. This was the first time Chef Mattia Agazzi had welcomed a guest chef to collaborate on a menu. The resulting dishes were a fusion of Onwuachi’s New York-inspired Afro-Caribbean fare and Mattia’s signature California-inspired Italian cuisine.
In coming together to create a menu for the evening, Mattia says, “Chef Kwame’s approach to food has been a long-time inspiration to me, and so it was an honor to invite him into the restaurant as a first-ever collaborator of the sort.” Onwuachi shared his own excitement. “This special menu highlights Afro-Caribbean ingredients, married with Italian techniques and influences.”
Onwuachi is a James Beard Award-winning chef and author of the critically acclaimed cookbook My America, and his memoir Notes from a Young Black Chef, which will be created into a feature film by A24. His accolades include being named one of Food & Wine’s “Best New Chefs” and Esquire magazine’s 2019 Chef of the Year. He has opened five restaurants before turning 30 and is focusing on his newest successful concept, “Tatiana,” in NYC’s Lincoln Center.
As part of Gucci’s 4th annual collaboration with the NAACP, a private luncheon was held in honor of the organization’s 54th Annual NAACP Image Awards hosted in Los Angeles. The lunch was hosted by the organization’s president, Derrick Johnson of the NAACP, and Bethann Hardison, Gucci’s Executive Advisor for Global Equity and Culture Engagement, who will be awarded the 2023 Vanguard Award for Fashion at the NAACP Awards.
Guests at lunch included Michaela Angela Davis, Brittany Packnett Cunningham, Aurora James, Cookie Johnson, Latanya Jackson, Kofi Siriboe, and our very own SVP of Creative, Corey Stokes.
There was also a public dinner as part of Gucci’s 4th annual collaboration with the NAACP. From 6 pm to 9 pm, the dinner showcased a six-course put together by both star chefs. In celebration of Black History Month and appreciation of guests joining Gucci for the evening, the fashion house will provide donations to two charities selected by the chefs: Hollywood Food Coalition in Los Angeles, which Agazzi is involved with, and No Kid Hungry, which Chef Kwame has been a longstanding partner of.
Opened in February 2020, Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura Beverly Hills is a team project led by Agazzi on the rooftop of Gucci’s Beverly Hills boutique. Offering outdoor seating and glorious views of the neighborhood, the restaurant is an added jewel to the growing Gucci Osteria collection that began in 2018 at the brand’s flagship store in Florence (a one-Michelin-starred restaurant since 2019).