The restaurant, named after the Dogon tribe of Mali, sits inside Salamander Washington DC, the luxury destination created by Sheila Johnson. Though located in the city’ s southwest area, Dōgon feels worlds apart.
The dimly lit dining room features towering columns, circular ceiling cutouts, and clusters of glowing white orbs casting alluring shadows that make the space feel otherworldly.
“ I feel like I’ ve been transported to Black outer space by the décor, the burst of flavor, and the neo-soul music that wraps it all together,” said Bobette Gillette, a D. C.-based event planner.
One of Onwuachi’ s favorite dishes at Dōgon is the Hoe Crab. He transforms shito— a dark, spicy Ghanaian sauce made from dried seafood— into an orangey, glossy, crunchy chili crisp topped with chunks of crab and served alongside fluffy plantain pancakes.
“ The Hoe Crab with the corn cakes feels like a match made in heaven to me,” said Alexa Moore, a travel content creator.“ Dōgon feels like the perfect mixture of the diaspora on a plate.”
Onwuachi’ s care in crafting each dish reflects what he calls a labor of love and a connection to his food’ s roots— lessons he learned early. At five, he was already chopping vegetables and packing meals to help with his mother’ s catering business, run from their small New York City apartment. At ten, he moved temporarily to Nigeria to live with his grandfather.
“ It was definitely a culture shock coming from the Bronx and living in Nigeria, where access to electricity and running water was limited. Having to kill my own livestock was part of the experience. It was very different from growing up in the city,” he said. Despite the challenges, he found it enriching.
Many meals there took the entire day— boiling and pounding yams, climbing palm trees to gather kernels for stew. The two years brought him closer to the artistry of food. The lessons stuck. As he grew, he connected the dots about the patience and care needed to build layers of flavor. He took on more responsibility with his mother and even worked the grill at McDonald’ s inside Macy’ s on 34th Street.
“ It was awesome, one of my favorite jobs,” he said.
By 17, his skills had grown alongside his mother’ s career. As she rose into an executive chef role in Louisiana, he worked beside her in those catering kitchens.
In 2014, Onwuachi was cast on Season 13 of the Top Chef reality series. The show aired in 2015, and he quickly became a fan favorite.
“ It was definitely overnight,” he says of fame.“ Getting recognized and stopped on the street was cool, but it took some getting used to.”
Soon, he found himself alongside chefs he’ d long admired, such as Paul Carmichael, whose restaurant was recently named among the country’ s Top 50 by The New York Times, and fellow
Top Chef alums Tiffany Derry and Gregory Gourdet.
“ It’ s beautiful when hard work pays off. It felt like I deserved to be there. I did it.”
Representation matters deeply to him. As his profile grew after Top Chef, he noticed how few Black chefs were present at high-end events. Though hospitality is one of the most diverse industries, Black ownership and leadership remain rare, according to The Multicultural Foodservice & Hospitality Alliance. Supporting and developing that community became the driving force behind his annual event, The Family Reunion.
There’ s nothing quite like it. Black chefs, distillers, sommeliers, influencers, food scholars, writers, and passionate food lovers gather at Salamander Resort & Spa in Middleburg, Virginia, for four days of endless dining, bottomless drinks, engaging panels, lively cooking demos, and all-night entertainment.
Onwuachi first met Sheila Johnson at a wedding vendors’ event in the Bahamas in late 2020 or early 2021. They quickly became friends, and she invited him to visit her secluded retreat. He said he knew immediately it was the place he’ d been searching for. Six months later, they launched the inaugural Family Reunion in August 2021.
“ When the chefs start to arrive and when the guests start to arrive is always my favorite moment,” Onwuachi said.“ Seeing them so excited to be there and very much represented is the reason why I do it.”
Johnson herself is a portrait of representation. After founding BET in 1980, she launched Salamander Hotels & Resorts in 2005, now a portfolio of seven luxury properties, and became an investor in Monumental Sports & Entertainment, which owns several D. C.-area sports teams.
“ We’ ve built something special together,” he said of working with Johnson.“ I’ m excited for what’ s ahead.”
There’ s plenty ahead. Onwuachi admits he grows anxious if he sits still.
“ No two days are the same,” he said of his hectic schedule.
When we spoke, he was just heading into dinner service at his newly opened Las’ Lap, a restaurant and rum bar in Miami. Afterward, he had a red-eye to continue recipe-testing for his upcoming Caribbean steakhouse, Maroon, set to open on the Las Vegas Strip.
He credits his team for helping him juggle restaurants, appearances, and filming sets. Still, he makes time to recharge— mornings spent golfing or relaxing, and occasional trips purely to explore. Recently, he dined at Noma, the three- Michelin-star restaurant in Copenhagen.
His dishes can now be found in American Express Centurion Lounges nationwide through a partnership with AMEX and Resy,
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