Chef Omar Tate Launches a Dinner Series Celebrating Black Farmers and Foodways

On a balmy summer night in Williamsburg, Brooklyn just alongside the East River overlooking Manhattan, Oko Farms welcomed guests to a night of farm-fresh cuisine prepared by Chef Omar Tate. Tate alongside his wife and co-founder, Cybille St.Aude-Tate are working to amplify the work of Black farmers across the country as the latest initiative of their organization Honeysuckle Projects. This is the first in an array of dinners taking place under the title "Cultivating Community: Dinner Series." “The original iteration [of Honeysuckle] started in 2017 as pop-ups with me learning more about Black foods and Black culture by understanding the position that Black folks are in, in America and throughout the world,” he explains. “We started Honeysuckle Projects as a brand in 2020. We are opening several different concepts under our umbrella, but the one that we re working on right now is Honeysuckle Provisions which is an Afrocentric grocery cafe that will be in West Philly where I m from.”

At dinner, guests gathered at long tables under twinkling lights surrounded by Oko’s growing crops. Co-founded by Nigerian farmer Yemi Amu and chef Jonathan Boe, Oko got its start in 2013. The farm is best known for its aquaponic system that allows the 2,500-square-foot location to grow fresh produce that’s either given away free of charge or sold to the local community. The farm was a natural fit for Tate’s series. “We wanted to make sure we weren t just working with Black farmers, but actually hosting events in Black spaces,” says Tate. “They’re community-focused and education driven. It all speaks to the nature of the work that [we] do through Honeysuckle. So it just seemed like the perfect place.” A partnership with Bombay Bramble meant the dinner would also support the Black Farmer Fund.

Each course was an ode to summer with classic recipes reimagined by Tate paired with Bramble Berry sours as the drink of the night. As the sun set, guests were served a snow crab and tomato salad accompanied by cornbread, a nod to the chef s childhood favorite. “We used to sit on the steps and eat crab, open the shells, and my mom used to make tomato mayo sandwiches for us. So this salad is like an homage to that summer experience that I had,” the chef recalls. Then there were St. Louis Ribs, sourced from Marvin Ross s Peculiar Pigs Farm, flavored with strawberry rub and a Bramble-led sauce.

“I don t think that I m defining Black cuisine,” Tate says. “I feel like Black cuisine on its own has a significant history and we re just adding our piece to that space. It s very elegant. We work towards bringing people to understanding our food ways because I think through migration a lot of these things have been lost. I think we re just building upon a legacy that already exists through our ancestors.” When it opens, Tate’s grocery store Honeysuckle Provisions will serve as a first-of-its-kind, offering not only fresh produce and cooked foods but a space to learn about and reclaim Black food, history, and culture.