--- description: Find out why Kwame Onwuachi is one of the 100 most influential people of 2025. title: Kwame Onwuachi: The 100 Most Influential People of 2025 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt28717069e485faff/6998c5bdd32e937d9fcd6e90/time100-2025-kwame-onwuachi.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Apr 16, 2025 # Kwame Onwuachi by Keke Palmer  The chef Kwame Onwuachi at Dogon, his restaurant inside the Salamander Washington DC hotel, Oct. 12, 2024\. With a raft of endorsement deals, star appearances and a new restaurant in Washington, Onwuachi has won fame and clout that stretch far beyond the kitchen. (Scott Suchman/The New York Times) The chef Kwame Onwuachi at Dogon, his restaurant inside the Salamander Washington DC hotel, Oct. 12, 2024\. With a raft of endorsement deals, star appearances and a new restaurant in Washington, Onwuachi has won fame and clout that stretch far beyond the kitchen. (Scott Suchman/The New York Times)Scott Suchman—The New York Times/Redux Kwame Onwuachi is the embodiment of brilliance, passion, and perseverance. I’m talking about a chef whose heart, soul, and creativity shine through every dish he serves. From his West African roots to his upbringing in the Bronx, Chef Kwame has turned every challenge into opportunity, showing the world the power of culinary expression. He’s rewriting the narrative in spaces that once overlooked Black chefs and has brought his story into each of [his restaurants](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/01/dining/kwame-onwuachi.html "undefined"), including Dogon, the Afro-Caribbean eatery he opened in D.C. this past fall. What I think I admire most is Chef Kwame’s unshakable commitment to breaking boundaries and continuing to elevate others along the way. He is not just cooking meals—he’s changing lives and changing the game. His work and his spirit have inspired so many of us. The kitchen is his oyster, and I cannot wait to see what he cooks up next. _Palmer is an Emmy-winning actor, author, and producer_ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2025/7273766/kwame-onwuachi/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2025/7273766/kwame-onwuachi/"},"headline":"Kwame Onwuachi","datePublished":"2025-04-16T10:30:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T02:28:55.883Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2025/7273766/kwame-onwuachi/","keywords":["TIME100","franchise","Magazine","Special Project","sponsorshipblock","Accolades","T100innovators2025"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt28717069e485faff/6998c5bdd32e937d9fcd6e90/time100-2025-kwame-onwuachi.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt28717069e485faff/6998c5bdd32e937d9fcd6e90/time100-2025-kwame-onwuachi.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2025/7273766/kwame-onwuachi/","name":"Kwame Onwuachi"}}]}] ```