There are many things I have my hands in, but my new restaurant, Tatiana, is at the forefront. I moved back to New York from D.C. to make sure the restaurant is running exactly how I want it to be. I go in in the morning, check in with the team, then taste through whatever needs to be tasted. From there, we start opening up and getting to service. With this restaurant, I wanted to pay homage to my sister, Tatiana [Steed, who is a chef in New Orleans], and dive into food I used to eat when I was a kid [in the Bronx and Nigeria]. We have egusi soup dumplings, braised oxtails with rice and peas, and truffle chopped cheese buns with taleggio and dry-aged beef. I’ve been working with my team for a long time. It’s important to trust the people around you. A big change was realizing that I can’t be in every single place at the same time. Tatiana is not just me, it represents all of us. At my last restaurant—Kith/Kin in D.C.—I would pull from my past and put a dish together, and that was pretty much it. This is more collaborative. I love being back in New York, too—it’s where I’m from—I’m walking past places I walked by as a kid. Now with Tatiana, I get to create new memories for other people. People should value themselves more than they do—I think that’s where impostor syndrome comes from. For me, I’ve been head down. I’ve been working. I think I would be more upset if I wasn’t in this position. I planned for this, you know what I mean? More people should look at themselves and the greatness they’re doing. I try not to get stuck on the negatives, and if there is a negative, it’s a learning tool for me to become better. —As told to David Salazar
Time he wakes up
7 or 8 a.m.
First thing he does in the morning
Check my phone.
How he spends his downtime
I like to watch a lot of Netflix or whatever new is out—like House of the Dragon. I order takeout, normally Chinese—chicken wings and pork fried rice—or get halal cart lamb and chicken over rice.
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