SOMETIMES IT COMES during his lunges. Or it could be in the middle of a biceps curl, or maybe while he’s sweating through some calisthenics. But as chef Kwame Onwuachi powers through his hour-long, five-times-a-week workouts in his Manhattan apartment building’s gym, inspiration may strike. It doesn’t happen often, but man, when it does? It’s magical.
A few months ago, the 33-year-old chef, known for bold dishes that draw flavors from his multicultural heritage—including the American South, the Caribbean, and Nigeria—was going all out in his workout when he got a delicious idea for a crowd-pleaser at his new restaurant, Tatiana, which opened in New York City’s Lincoln Center last November. “All of a sudden I got in my head a salmon dish with a gumbo panade on top—like, as its skin—with a Creole sauce and crispy okra,” Onwuachi recalls with the smile of a man happily lost in memory. “I made it, and it was really good!” He laughs. “Hey, inspiration comes in many forms. I try to tune out and forget life when I’m working out, but sometimes you get a great idea.”
Onwuachi has had lots of great ideas in his life, which has taken him on a flavor odyssey from Long Island, where he was born, to Nigeria, Louisiana, Los Angeles, Washington, D. C., and now back to N.Y.C. He’s gone from selling candy on the subway to make a buck to opening several eateries, including the award-winning Kith/Kin. A stint on Top Chef in 2015 helped raise his public profile.
His workouts, which he takes very seriously, serve as both a fitness check and a professional boost. “I definitely feel like working out makes me sharper and healthier, and that’s good for my career and my health,” Onwuachi says. “When I start my day running two miles, I find I’m more effective and motivated to seize the day. I like to run at 6:00 or 7:00 a.m., and then once you’ve done that, you’re ready to go.”
Onwuachi’s workouts mash up modalities and generally begin with 15 minutes of cardio—running, box jumps, or walking lunges (or, in the summer, basketball with friends). Then he hits the weights. He says he focuses on one body part per day and tells himself to clear his mind of any work-related worries. He loves doing dips and bench presses—I watched him sweat through 200-pound reps in a recent session. He usually ends with some soothing and meditative yoga. “I’ve learned that working out doesn’t totally clear me, but it relieves job stress, and I take some frustration out on the weights,” he says. “Now having an education in opening restaurants—trial by fire—I’m able to problem-solve and not get as upset about certain things as I did before.”
He’s been exercising seriously for only a few years. A little before the pandemic hit, an old friend of his, Nigel Quiroz, entered a bodybuilding competition, which shocked Onwuachi. “I saw he was doing that and basically said to him, ‘How the hell did you do that? That’s crazy!’ ” he recalls. “And he was telling me he just starts with cardio in the morning, weight training at night, but mainly it was watching everything he eats. So I started taking his advice.”
Onwuachi credits his workouts with helping him maintain a healthy lifestyle, which he admits is difficult, because running a restaurant is not the easiest thing. It helps to be physically fit when you’re dashing around stoves and racing to greet customers at their tables all night. “I operate businesses where the goal is to have a good time, and I like to have a good time,” he says with a chuckle. “But working out helps keep me in check. If I’m, like, thinking of having a drink or two, I think to myself, Why would I want to waste that workout I did today? And it applies to my whole lifestyle. After workout days, I go to sleep on time, and that helps me a lot.”
Onwuachi’s training calendar is different from most people’s. He says he’ll go through stretches of working out constantly for three months, but then he’ll take a month or so off to relax and have a good time. “I’ll take a break for a little while, and then I find myself missing it,” he says. “When I know I’m going on TV, that’s when I gear up and work out a lot. We all like to look good on TV.”
Short-Order Fitness
When the chef is on the road, he does a simple workout like this in his hotel room.
Biceps Curls with Strength Bands
Easy to use in a hotel room. He does 3 sets of 12 to keep his arms in good shape.
Planks
Do 4 reps of 30 to 60 seconds. Brace your core and breathe deeply.
High-Intensity Calisthenics
Do 15 pushups, 15 deep lunges per side, and 30 air squats. Do 4 rounds.
A version of this story originally appears in the March 2023 issue of Men’s Health, with the title “6 A.M. WITH…THE FLAVOR KING”.
Michael J. Lewis is a longtime journalist who has worked for various newspapers and magazines as a sportswriter and is currently a freelance writer and book editor based in New York.
Comments are closed.