The First Black Male Michelin-star Chef-Owner In America Is Changing Fine Dining

Charlie Mitchell is Black history.

He’s the first Black male Michelin-star chef-owner in the United States, according to TheGrio, and adds a fresh view to the industry of fine dining — the industry that offers delicious advantages.

As the executive chef and co-owner of Clover Hill in the New York Brooklyn Heights neighborhood, Mitchell is accruing excitement thanks to an innovative approach to fine dining.

Mitchell has made it a point to input his cultural heritage into his company. He was commemorated as the Michelin 2022 NYC Young Chef Award Winner, as well as a 2023 James Bear Finalist.

“When you grow up eating soul food, it’s a lot of sodium,” Mitchell said to TheGrio. “It’s a lot of layers of flavors; it’s salt, it’s fat, it’s lard, it’s hot sauce. We wanna taste our food, and bringing that to a fine-dining menu, I think, caught people off guard — especially when you cook with a lot of Japanese ingredients and Japanese fish."

“But our approach and my personality is like, no! I know how I grew up eating. I know how I love to eat, and I wanna taste layers and flavors — big flavors,” he continues, laughing. “Some people are like, are you putting hot sauce in that? I’m like, yeah! … It doesn’t matter what we use. Maybe we will use Lawry’s one day, I don’t know. But bringing those big flavors, I think, is something very unique to how we cook here.”

According to Clover Hill, the brand centers on a unique fine dining perspective that is focused on warmth, intimacy and well-thought-out crafted dishes designed to give folks the best experience possible. This goes for both music and food.

“It’s sort of like a daytime relaxing vibe. But the dinner service is a lot of hip-hop, R&B, and soul music that is very close to me …  That, along with the ingredients that I kind of layer into the meal, shows all of who I am.”

Folks interested in the place can go to the cobblestone block right in the heart of the Brooklyn Heights Historic District. The place is a 20-seat restaurant and is run not only by Mitchell but by Clay Castillo and Gabriel Merino as well.

“Clover Hill seeks to blend the best elements of old and new school fine dining,” the website states. “We are focused on fish and shellfish and we believe that eating should be fun.”

Photo Credit: Charlie Mitchell Instagram