The Bigger Picture featuring Rōze Traore
by Korsha Wilson
Whether he is hosting a dinner at home in Harlem or an artist residency at his hotel in Côte d’Ivoire, the most important ingredient for chef Rōze Traore is the freedom to explore.
While many chefs claim global inspiration, Röze Traore lives it. Based between New York and Côte d'Ivoire, he draws on his ties to America, France, and West Africa as well as his travels.The classically trained chef has made a name for himself with immersive events that blend food and fashion. Like a gust of wind guiding an undirected sail, his meals never quite let you know where they will take you. Maybe he'll plate tomatoes, perfectly peeled using the classical French technique of concasse, alongside poached New England lobster. Or he might prepare dusky orange chanterelle mushrooms, seared over a high heat and tossed with butter until glistening, paired with springy black rice. In early summer, zucchini from a farmers' market in New York City may be served three ways-pickled, charred, or as confit-with a filet of local sea bass. Playful yet moored in technique and memory, Traore's diverse references show how we're all connected through taste. One calm morning in his Harlem apartment, he reflects on his journey to become a chef and how opening his hotel was an important step in connecting with artists, specifically those across the African diaspora.
Korsha Wilson: Where did you grow up, and when did you fall in love with food?
Roze Traore: I was born in Washington, D.C. and raised between there, the Ivory Coast, and Paris. My dad was a fisherman and would be out on the water for months at a time. He would come home after three to six months, and my mom would cook his favorite meals from his childhood, traditional dishes from Côte d'Ivoire like peanut sauce and poisson braisé, which is braised fish, and some plantains. Looking back, I can see that he wanted those dishes because they were comforting to him, but he also wanted us to know more about our culture. He really helped build my love of food, but it wasn't until I graduated from high school and needed to figure out a career that I thought about it. I wanted to know more about the history and techniques of cooking in all of these places I had lived. After I graduated from Le Cordon Bleu, I started to get a sense of the fact that I wanted to explore fine dining and fashion. That's when everything popped off.
"How can I put many countries on a plate and make it harmonious?" — Rōze Traore
KW: After culinary school, you worked in some of the best fine-dining kitchens. What was it like working in those places?
RT: I wanted to reconnect with all of the fond memories from my childhood in D.C., so I looked up the best restaurant, and at the time it was CityZen, led by chef Eric Ziebold. I worked there and would go to New York City on my days off to visit modeling agencies. Within that commu-nity, I was able to see the food scene and get to know some chefs. I eventually started cooking for a catering company for major photo shoots and started to think about ways to curate experiences. I got into that element of storytelling and realized I wanted to be a chef that combined food and fashion in a meaningful way. This was 10 years ago, when doing this felt like a new field; today there are so many people in the space, and it has exploded. I've always enjoyed creating, and I enjoyed working in restaurants, but I was excited to combine those two worlds and express it to a different audience.
KW: What you're able to do feels pretty singu-lar-there are people who cook for the fashion world, but they're not necessarily in the fashion world as you are. What do both realms have in common?
RT: Both have this obsession with perfection and attention to detail. That alone feels so fulfilling to me, but I also wanted to bring in another element with art, so l added a residency program at my hotel in Côte d'Ivoire. Now I'm a chef who is not only involved in the fashion space but also connected with the best artists of our generation-painters, musicians-and I am curating a space for them to explore their art. I love building that repertoire and having relationships with artists. That's been my latest passion.
KW: Why was it important to you to connect with African-American artists and bring them to your hotel?
RT: I've found that so many artists are curious about Africa but haven't had the opportunity to visit. I wanted to take that upon myself and actually have them come to the motherland to create. Being able to follow through, to grow and progress, is hard, and I wanted to recognize that and provide space for people to work. Also, I just purely enjoy the exchange between artists. I like looking at archival pictures of musicians playing together back in the day, like Miles Davis and John Coltrane, and hearing what they were able to create together. My life has been made so much richer by exploring and researching this community and opening up my space to them. It's just like the food: The art brings us together, but there's an energy, a synergy around everything that makes it memorable.
KW: What are the aspects of being an artist that can be hard, and what aspects bring you joy?
RT: As far as the process, it can be hard to have the patience to become the artist you want to be. It's much easier said than done, and sometimes you just have to be at that stoplight because there's so much traffic happening. Sometimes you must wait your turn to be able to speak in a way that will be accepted and appreciated. It can feel a bit discomforting, but you have to understand yourself. You have to believe in the vision and move to your own tune.
KW: When did you decide you wanted to open a hotel in Côte d'Ivoire?
RT: Owning a hotel was an organic extension, but it wasn't always my goal. My mom has been an amazing inspiration from a work perspective, and this felt like an opportunity to honor her and work together on a project where she's from. It was perfect timing, and it felt like a jump forward in my career at the right moment.
KW: That's really beautiful. Between all of your projects, how do you define your style?
RT: Timeless, mysterious, and elegant. I have a uniform that I go to when getting dressed most days. It's a pair of glasses, a scarf, a trouser, and a white or black top. That's it. I'll obviously wear something different for a special occasion, but that's what I wear most days so I don't need to think about it.
KW: Do you recommend that for everyone?
RT: No, definitely not. I think you just gotta feel it. There's just a feel when it comes to clothes and fashion, knowing how to layer, knowing how you can play with colors, all of that. What I enjoy about fashion is not letting the clothes create who I am but using them in a way that speaks to me. Everyone has their own unique way to create their own fits.
KW: How do you describe your cooking style? And what elements do you incorporate in that art form?
RT: It's explorative, not only for me but also for those that eat my cooking. When I feel great is when I am able to be free with my cooking style and combine all the parts of my story. I never enjoyed being pigeonholed or told I can only do one thing. I've always been big on exploring however I want to. If I have a classic French dish, why can't l incorporate some Japanese techniques or some seasonings from Africa? How can I put many countries on a plate and make it harmonious? I never want to limit myself, so my philosophy is there's no boundaries for me or my food. I want the freedom to explore and be free.
KW: When you're in New York City, what restaurants do you visit?
RT: I love classics in downtown New York, like The Odeon and Frenchette. When I'm uptown, I like to head to Manny's on the Upper West Side. But really I enjoy going to restaurants that have been around for a decade or more because we know surviving in the hospitality business is no joke. So it's like a visit is showing appreciation for those who have put in that work, and it's also inspiring to know that something you build can last.
KW: What's on the horizon that you're excited about?
RT: I'm finally at the point, after all of these years and after all of these experiences, where I've realized that I want to open a restaurant in New York City. This city feels like my environ-ment, my domain, and I really want diners to understand who I am here. It's taken 10 years, but I feel like I have the knowledge and the ex-perience, and I want to have a home for my food here. That's my next mission.
Photography: Heather Sten
Fashion: Ben Perreira
Groomer: Whittany Robinson
Production: The Curated
Local Production: Here Productions
Photo Assistants: Mark Jayson Quines and Avery J. Savage
Retouching: Nikita Shaletin
Special Thanks: East Photographic