Omar Tate

With more passion, courage and intention than resources or financial support, Omar Tate has sparked a revolution in African-American food. With his Honeysuckle dinner series and the pop-up takeout options he has offered in the wake of the pandemic, he committed himself to carrying on the culinary practices of the ancestors who nurtured his youth and gifted him a sense of purpose. He outworked, outpaced and outcooked everyone in reach, making African-­American “foodway” an important language we all needed to speak. And someday soon, Honeysuckle will be reborn as a community center in Philadelphia, complete with a supper club and café library. Armed with a desire to ignite a movement of humanity, love and grace, Omar is setting the table for a new beginning.

Smalls is a chef, restaurateur, writer and activist