Mashama Bailey
Mashama Bailey | |
|---|---|
 Bailey's restaurant, The Grey, in Savannah, Georgia | |
| Born | Mashama Bailey |
| Education | Francis Lewis High School Sullivan County Community College Brooklyn College Institute of Culinary Education |
| Culinary career | |
| Cooking style | Southern cuisine French technique |
Current restaurant(s)
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Previous restaurant(s)
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Television show(s) | |
Mashama Baileyis an Americancheftrained inFrenchtechnique who is currently cookingSouthern cuisine.In 2019, Bailey was awarded aJames Beard Awardas best chef of the southeast.[1]In 2022, Bailey was awarded aJames Beard Awardas Outstanding Chef.[2]
Early life and education
[edit]Mashama Bailey was born to David and Catherine Bailey in theBronx.[3]She was the eldest of three with one sister and one brother.[4]Bailey moved toWaynesboro, Georgiaat the age of 2,Savannah, Georgiaat 5, and then toQueens, New Yorkwhen she was 11.[5]Bailey learned to cook from her mother and grandmother.[4]
After graduating fromFrancis Lewis High School,Bailey attendedSullivan County Community College[3]where she studiedphysical therapyand later switched tosocial work.[6]Early in her career, Bailey worked at ahomeless shelterinBrooklyn, New York.As the project underwent changes she was let go, an experience that became a catalyst for her to explore theculinary arts.[7]She enrolled inPeter Kump's New York Cooking School,and after graduating began her culinary career atAquagrillinSoHo.[7]
Bailey, interested in exploring the wider range of careers available in theculinary arts,took a break from the restaurant industry, during which time she worked as apersonal chefon theUpper East Side.[8]This left some of her family concerned with the racial and class dynamics, as it seemed a return to how her grandmothermigratedfromGeorgiatoManhattanand worked as a maid. Bailey's grandmother worked within several households, one of the more famous being that ofArt Carney.[3]
Working as a personal chef did not inspire Bailey as she had hoped, and during this time she applied for a work-study program that led her to Château du Fey inBurgundy, France.[4]There she was mentored byAnne Willanwho advised her to continue cooking in restaurants instead of exploring aculinary writingcareer.[9]
Career
[edit]Bailey started her career as an intern atAquagrillin 2001, and also worked at David Burke and Donatella, and theOak Roomin thePlaza Hotel.[10]In 2010, Bailey was hired atPrune,where she was quickly promoted tosous-chefand worked for four years.[11]
Startup entrepreneur John O. Morisano heard about Bailey through the chef and owner of Prune,Gabrielle Hamilton,and reached out to her about a long-abandoned, formerJim Crow segregatedGreyhoundstationhe'd bought inSavannah,Georgia.[12][13]Across the street from the property is theChatham CountyCourthouse where Bailey's parents were married in the 1980s.[14]The restaurant, namedThe Grey,was nominated for the 2015James Beard Foundation Awardfor Best New Restaurant.[15]
On October 15, 2018, Morisano and Bailey opened The Grey Market in Savannah inspired bySouthernlunch countersand New York Citybodegas.[16]Since 2017, Bailey has served as chairwoman of theEdna LewisFoundation, which works to "revive, preserve, and celebrate the rich history of African-American cookery by cultivating a deeper understanding of Southern food and culture in America."[11][17]
Awards
[edit]- The Grey was named one ofFood & Wine's best restaurants of 2019.[18]
- Winner of the James Beard Award for Best Chef in the Southeast in 2019.[1]
- In 2018, she was nominated for the James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef in the Southeast.[19]
- The Grey was one ofFood & Wine'sbest restaurants of 2015.[20]
- The Grey was the 2017 Restaurant of the Year fromEater[21]
- The Grey was chosen as one of the best 100 places in the world byTimein 2018.[12]
- Winner James Beard Award for Outstanding Chef in 2022.[2]
Television
[edit]She was a featured chef in the sixth season ofNetflix'sChef's Tableand was a guest onseason 14,episode 6 ofTop Chef.
References
[edit]- ^abZusel, Yvonne."Mashama Bailey of Savannah's The Grey takes home James Beard Award".The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.Retrieved8 May2019.
- ^abFabricant, Florence."Mashama Bailey and Owamni Win Top Honors at James Beard Awards".The New York Times.Retrieved7 July2022.
- ^abcGlock, Allison (January 2016)."Mashama Bailey's Home Cooking".Garden & Gun.
- ^abcBailey, Mashama (2018). "It's Not All Fried Chicken and Greasy Greens". In Franklin, Sara B. (ed.).Edna Lewis:At the Table with an American Original.UNC Press.
- ^Fishman, Jane (2014-10-25)."New Savannah restaurant turns strangers to partners".Savannah Morning News.
- ^Deruy, Emily (2015-10-07)."Breaking Into The Boys' Club from a Kitchen in Savannah".The Atlantic.
- ^abDay, Ashley (2018-10-26)."Mashama Bailey's Big Year".Institute of Culinary Education.
- ^Morabito, Greg (2019-03-01)."'Chef's Table' Recap: Mashama Bailey Tells a Fresh Story About the South ".Eater.
- ^Kinsman, Kat (2016-04-25)."Sauté It Forward".Tasting Table.
- ^Klein, Danny (January 2016)."Into the Grey".FSR.
- ^abHarrison, Olivia (2019-02-28)."Everything You Need To Know About Chef Mashama Bailey From Chef's Table".Refinery29.
- ^abRockwood, Kate (2018)."The Grey".Time.
- ^Gordinier, Jeff (2015-07-27)."At the Grey in Savannah, History Takes Another Turn".New York Times.
- ^Bonney, Grace (May 2015)."A Tour of The Grey in Savannah + Chow Chow Recipe + Weekly Wrap Up".Design Sponge.
- ^"The 2015 Restaurant and Chef Award Semifinalists".James Beard Foundation.2015-02-18.
- ^Yagoda, Maria (2018-11-09)."Mashama Bailey Opens The Grey Market Just Blocks From Award-Winning Savannah Restaurant The Grey".Food & Wine.
- ^Figueras, Ligaya (2018-02-07)."Georgia chef fosters legacy of Southern food dame Edna Lewis".The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
- ^Rodell, Besha (August 20, 2019)."These Are the World's Best Restaurants: North America, South America, Africa and Middle East".Food & Wine.RetrievedAugust 20,2019.
- ^"The 2018 James Beard Award Semifinalists".James Beard Foundation.
- ^"Food & Wine Restaurants of the Year 2015".Food & Wine.2015.Retrieved2019-03-13.
- ^Addison, Bill (2017-11-28)."The Triumph of the Grey".Eater.