Whether at a restaurant or at home, there are few activities more intimate than sharing a meal — sitting around a table, breaking bread and engaging in thoughtful conversation with friends and family. “Food is often the way we can trace where we’ve been, where we went, where we’ve come from and where we are going,” Lester Walker, a New York-based chef and member of Ghetto Gastro collective, tells us.
Having grown up in the Bronx with a love of all things culinary, specifically, how cooking for others can make them feel, and, of course, fashion, Lester trained at some of the city’s top French restaurants, with “the flyest clientele”. Now, he, Jon Gray and Pierre Serrao, the chefs behind Ghetto Gastro, are catering exclusive parties for the likes of Rick Owens and Michele Lamy and hip high-end labels, but their main focus is addressing food insecurity, using food for social change and forging cross-cultural community in New York City.
When he’s in the kitchen, Lester likes to wear something comfortable that shows off his signature style: “a fresh silky on my head, Ghetto Gastro T-shirt to rep the gang, maybe some fatigues and Tom Sachs Mars Yard 2.0’s on the feet to make the cypher complete.” Photographed for i-D by Nuvany David at Dr. Clark in Chinatown, and styled by Christine Nicholson in Marc Jacobs’ Monogram Collection, the rising star of New York’s food scene pays homage to the legendary designer, sporting a contemporary uniform with flavour.
Here, we spoke to Lester about growing up in the kitchen, the city’s influence on his cooking and how his style’s evolved over the years.
Hey Lester, tell us about your earliest memory in the kitchen.
I witnessed my mother get shot in the kitchen when I was three years old. I told myself I wouldn’t leave her alone in the kitchen. I took a liking to cooking because it made her happy, in turn it made me happy.
How has growing up in New York City influenced your style of cooking? And your work with Ghetto Gastro?
NYC, but specifically the Bronx is so multicultural. From West Africa to Santo Domingo, I was obsessed with learning how to be well-seasoned in the kitchen, which is why I went to Manhattan to work in trendy spots with all the flyest clientele from Jean Georges to Buddakan to Eleven Madison Park. I was determined to have all the Stease. So, with Ghetto Gastro, it’s important to highlight dishes of intentionally deprived communities. We want to surprise and delight, but also challenge and innovate.
What are some of the latest community-building initiatives that you all are working on here?
During quarantine, inspired by the Black Panther party, we provided free breakfasts to bridge the gap between food waste and food insecurity. We worked with Rethink Food and La Morada to provide 100,000 meals to intentionally deprived communities across NYC. We’re also releasing our debut cookbook Black Power Kitchen this month.
In what ways can cooking be considered a tool for liberation?
Food is often the way we can trace where we’ve been, where we went, where we’ve come from and where we are going. I can be free and liberated creatively.
What’s one thing happening in New York’s food scene that you’re excited about?
I’m really excited to see the increase in women-led kitchens such as Vinatería in Harlem and La Cueva Fonda and La Morada in the Bronx.
For this shoot, Nuvany David photographed you in the latest Marc Jacobs Monogram drop in fluorescent hues. What makes for an ideal cooking uniform?
I was trained in classically French kitchens, and I always remember Jean Georges coming through with an immaculately clean white jacket, black fitted pants and black shoes. Seeing that at a young impressionable age, I always made sure I was fly [in the kitchen].
As a chef, how has your style evolved over the years?
Now, I’m more comfortable being me with a fresh silky on my head, Ghetto Gastro T-shirt to rep the gang, maybe some fatigues and Tom Sachs Mars Yard 2.0’s on the feet to make the cypher complete. Cozy and calm.
If you had to choose one dish that tastes like true, hometown NYC cooking, what would it be?
I’d have to say mofongos (green plantains) and fried mangú medallions served with a roasted garlic aioli. It’s all the essence of the Bronx in one dish. And the kicker is you need a mortar and pestle to make them. Super engaging and fun.
Credits
Photography Nuvany David
Fashion Christine Nicholson
Hair Bush Brodie
Make-up Kye Howell
Photography assistance Fallou Seck
Fashion assistance Nicole Alexander
Creative Direction Yara Heine
Executive Producers Michael May and Randy Stulberg
Producers Chloe Mina and Andrea Blake
Marketing Managers Cate Jensen and Charlotte Jenkins
Talent Liaison Emily Mannix
Social Producer Carly Danner
Special thanks to Dr. Clark
Lester Walker wears all clothing Marc Jacobs