The Accidental Chef

Rawlston Williams Shares Food, Dreams, and The Caribbean Cookbook

By Jordan Staggs | Photography courtesy of Phaidon

If you ask Chef Rawlston Williams how he became a successful New York City chef, he’s likely to tell you it was an accident. He cites his childhood, growing up in the village of Questelles, near Kingstown in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, as a time when food was central to everything. He recalls the aromas of fresh cocoa, caramel, and stewed chicken wafting into the house from his neighbors and helping his Auntie Gloria cook meals while she was bedridden with rheumatoid arthritis, giving him instructions as they went. Later, in learning the simple yet delicious cooking techniques his father taught him after Rawlston joined his parents in the United States around age ten, “The one constant I had was food,” he says.

H e continues, “As a child, landing at JFK Airport in 1987, seeing New York all lit up at night seemed kind of magical—but then seeing it all in the daylight, it lost some of that. The neighborhoods were rough back then, and it was hard.” Despite that, Rawlston has fond memories of that time, cooking with his father. “I had my first piece of fried chicken then,” he recalls. It was a big change after being raised vegetarian. “And my dad would make ground chuck steak. I remember thinking ‘Wow, that was a lot of meat,’ and my dad was a good cook. I learned a lot from him. There were good times, and good lessons, too.”

After losing his father to violence just a couple years after Rawlston joined his parents in New York, he continued learning the importance of kindness and hospitality from his mother. But being a professional chef was never his dream. In fact, he left New York for college at Oakwood University in Huntsville, Alabama, where he studied to be a minister. Changing his mind about that career eventually “wasn’t really a conscious decision,” he shares. “I just came to the realization that path wasn’t for me in the longterm. It was a combination of fear, money, and needing a backup plan. I’m the first person in my family to go to college, and I worked full-time the entire time I was studying. When I came back to New York, I was still figuring out what life is.”

What of the “accidental” culinary career? Rawlston says during that time when he wasn’t sure what he wanted to do, he leaned on his love of cooking for comfort. “I’d often visit the French Culinary Institute in Manhattan, where they’d let me come in on a tour. Then I’d go home, practice, try to teach myself new cooking skills through YouTube, and listen to these great chefs talk about food on channels like NPR.”

He also befriended a New York chef who would become his mentor, Tyler Kord, who opened No.7 restaurant in Brooklyn after a successful run at Chef Jean-Georges’s Perry Street in the West Village. Tyler encouraged Rawlston to pursue his passion for cooking, and after Rawlston earned a scholarship to the French Culinary Institute, he spent time learning with Tyler in the kitchen, eventually working together after graduation.

“Coming out of school and seeing how some professional kitchens run—the pressure and the chaos that goes on, often to the point of abuse—it wasn’t really something I wanted for myself,” he admits. “I started working with Tyler and cooking at home as a private chef, until my family suggested getting my own kitchen somewhere. I didn’t really know what I was going to do with that, but I started looking in Brooklyn. It wasn’t a dream of mine to open a restaurant; I just wanted to put food on the table and take care of my family.”

In 2015, The Food Sermon started as a 600-square-foot prep kitchen in Crown Heights for his private chef business, and it evolved into a fast-casual Caribbean takeaway window, then a hot spot garnering reviews from the likes of New York Times Magazine and more.

“It was a surprise when that kitchen became what it was,” he laughs. “People just began to hang out longer—it was almost like an accidental restaurant.” The menu was varied, but Rawlston says “Caribbean” was the best-suited option when he had to choose from the list for his business license. Build-your-own rice bowls, stewed chicken, curried chicken, and other modern island-inspired favorites were staples that he kept “in case people didn’t like what I was making,” he says. The large menu led to complications and higher operating costs, however, and eventually he pared it down to the items that sold best. “I realized the things I was initially ‘scared’ to put out were the things making the most money. I literally cried when removing some things from the menu, but it just made sense to listen to the numbers, and that allowed me to create a niche for myself.”

The accidental restaurant became such a hit that when the city decided to build out the Brooklyn Navy Yard into a modern food hall and lifestyle center, it invited The Food Sermon to open a new location there. The exciting opportunity was equally daunting, Rawlston confesses.

“It had a 1,200-square-foot kitchen on the ground floor of a busy office building, and became a monster, financially,” he says. It opened after about three years of planning, construction, and staff training. The first few weeks after opening were great, but the punctuation mark on that time is one that many chefs are far too familiar with: “And then COVID happened.”

Unfortunately, The Food Sermon as a restaurant didn’t survive the pandemic, but as a philosophy, lifestyle, and community, it is still very much alive. “In the end, it worked out fine,” says Rawlston. “I use the word ‘serendipity’ a lot when thinking about how my life has evolved. I value the times I hear ‘no’ as much as I do ‘yes,’ and growing up as an outsider, to a degree, taught me not to become handcuffed to tradition or to doing things a certain way. I’m always learning new ways to do things.”

Before the restaurant closed, he had already been approached by publisher Phaidon about doing a cookbook, and, as it turned out, the pandemic became an opportunity to slow down, reflect, and begin working on that project. It was also a chance to reconnect with Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

“I was spending more time at home—around the islands—while going through kind of a rough time after my business closed,” he says. “It’s the same as when you’re cooking, though; you let the stove work while you’re prepping the next thing. I thought, ‘What can I control? What do I have now that can benefit me?’ I had the book.”

The Caribbean Cookbook, coming in April 2026, had been in the pipeline, but Rawlston admits he had never been sure how to begin putting it together before COVID. The chance to carve out the time and space in his mind to plan it was an accidental—or serendipitous—side effect of the restaurant closing. “There was a time when I thought I couldn’t do it, and was even going to give back my advance,” he admits. “But Phaidon said they’d wait. They have been incredible to work with, and the book is beautiful.”

Returning to the islands where he grew up and “reliving” his childhood is an escape for the Brooklyn chef, not only from the city during COVID, but from the inherent weight of being a Black man in America and the pressure, prejudice, and fear that can come with that. “I do not feel the weight of my Blackness when I’m in the islands. When I hit JFK and come back to the States, I start to feel that weight come back.” He finds happiness doing things he did as a kid in the islands, and some things he couldn’t do then, like going out at 4:00 a.m. with the fisherman to pull in their nets.

Being there also inspired him to finally start working on his manuscript. “I tend to want to tell a story, whether with a dish, in the book, or in a photo,” he says. “I wanted to be intentional and have it hark back to our history. Once I had the manuscript, then the project started to move really quickly.”

The cookbook includes far more than just recipes. It’s a manifesto of life on the islands, the way the people there live with nature, and the “instinctive” way of cooking its natives use, focused far more on recognizing texture, aroma, and how ingredients fit together than on following a set of steps. Its 380 recipes span 28 countries and island nations of the Caribbean, introducing readers to new and old favorites through its vibrant photography and stories. Many of the photos are Rawlston’s, whose bank of images in the publication alongside others by Nico Schinco represent yet another accidental role he never planned on holding.

While beautiful and delicious, the recipes in The Caribbean Cookbook are not always simple. “Food is emotional—it’s part of us, and it comes with feelings,” Rawlson explains, whether it’s the depth experienced through the smoked flavors of Dominica or the salty lightness of a fish broth made outside near the sea. “There’s a depth of flavor that makes you pay attention. You can’t just understand that as soon as you read a recipe and start to cook. You have to really want it and be open to authentically cooking this food to get the result.”

One recipe that stands out to him as interesting and deceptively simple is the traditional stewed chicken, he says. “You have to pay attention to make a caramel, which takes patience and then can burn really fast, so you have to be ready to prepare it and render it with the protein quickly. It ends up with a beautiful, sweet, burnt flavor that’s like magic. Even I have to pay attention making it, and I mess up once in a while. When you do get it, it’s very rewarding, and I never take that for granted.”

The book’s April release includes a series of collaborative “four hands” dinner events with other chefs to take place throughout the month, sponsored by OpenTable. A couple of the events include a dinner with Barbados-born Chef Paul Carmichael at Kabawa in New York and Saint Lucia native Chef Nina Compton at Compère Lapin in New Orleans. A ticket to the dinner includes a copy of The Caribbean Cookbook and the special meal experience.

Releasing the book after years of contemplation and planning is exciting and nerve-racking, says Rawlston. “But it’s all about sharing my culture and my country. Thinking of them and my family—that’s how I’m able to walk into these rooms with confidence.”

He dedicated the book to his mother, who was also the first one to see the advance copies when they were mailed to him, Rawlston shares proudly. “She’s been through a lot and is such an inspirational person. I always say that Heaven is the only way my mom could be repaid for all the things she’s done for others—nothing else would be enough.” There’s no doubt she’s just as proud of her son and his many accomplishments.

Whether by accident or through a serendipitous fate, Chef Rawlston Williams and The Caribbean Cookbook will be remembered as leaders in sharing the art, emotion, and history of island cuisine for decades to come.

Cashew Cake with Cashew Fudge Drizzle

Adapted from The Caribbean Cookbook by Rawlston Williams 

Serves: 8

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 1 hour

The cashew apple is the juicy, bell-shaped fruit that grows above the cashew nut on the tree. It can be red, yellow, or orange, and has a strong aroma with a sweet, slightly tangy flavor, often described as a mix of mango, guava, and bell pepper. High in vitamin C, the fruit is enjoyed fresh in many parts of the Caribbean, or turned into juices, jams, syrups, and even fermented into wine. The cashew nut grows at the tip of the apple and must be carefully processed before eating. First, it is dried and roasted, then shelled to reveal the creamy seed inside. While the apple is soft and perishable, the nut is long-lasting and widely used in sweets, snacks, and baking.

INGREDIENTS

For the Cake

• 8 tablespoons (115 g) butter, at room temperature, plus extra for greasing
• 1 cup (200 g) sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 ½ cups (195 g) all-purpose (plain) flour, plus extra for the pan (tin)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 ½ cups (170 g) ground cashew nuts
• 1 cup (8 fl oz/250 ml) whole milk

For the Cashew Fudge Drizzle

• ½ cup (60 g) ground cashew nuts
• 1 cup (8 fl oz/250 ml) sweetened condensed milk
• ¼ cup (50 g) sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter
• ¼ cup (30 g) toasted chopped cashew nuts, for topping

DIRECTIONS

Make the Cake:

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C/Gas Mark 4). Grease and flour a 9-inch (23 cm) square cake pan (tin).

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla extract. 

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and cinnamon, then stir through the ground cashews.

Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, alternating with the milk, mixing until just combined. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and smooth the top.

Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 50-60 minutes. Let the cake cook in the pan. 

Make the Cashew Fudge Drizzle: 

While the cake is cooking, make the drizzle. Combine the ground cashews, condensed milk, sugar, butter, and ¼ cup (2 fl oz/60 ml) water in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly until thickened but still pourable, 6-8 minutes. Let cool slightly.

Pour the cashew fudge evenly over the cake and sprinkle immediately with the chopped cashews.

Let cool before slicing and serving. 

Rum Punch

Adapted from The Caribbean Cookbook by Rawlston Williams

Makes: 1 cocktail

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Jamaican rum punch is a fruity, vibrant cocktail made with a mix of dark rum, lime juice, and tropical fruit juices. A sign that a rum punch is going to be exceptional is the grating of nutmeg on top at the end.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 oz (60ml) run, white or dark
• 2 oz (60ml) pineapple juice
• 1 oz (30 ml) fresh lime juice
• 1 oz (30 ml) orange juice
• ½ oz (15 ml) grenadine syrup
• Ice
• Orange peel and fresh pineapple, for garnish
• Grated nutmeg, for garnish

DIRECTIONS

In a cocktail shaker, combine the rum, pineapple juice, lime juice, orange juice, and grenadine.

Shake well and strain into an ice-filled glass. Garnish with orange peel and a couple pieces of pineapple, and grate some nutmeg on top to finish. 

— V —

---

Visit Phaidon.com to get your copy of The Caribbean Cookbook. Follow @iamrawlston, @thefoodsermon, and TheFoodSermon.com to learn more about Chef Rawlston Williams, see his photos, and find recipes online.