Roasted Chicken
the things they enjoy is entertaining. As a result, he has lots of fond memories surrounding big feasts. It could have been a child’s birthday, an engagement, or a graduation. Even for something as small as his mother’s mahjong games, food was paramount. “The ladies would play all night,” he recalls. “And that’s how I learned how to cook. I learned how to make rice and shave coconuts,” so he could earn a few dollars to buy GI Joe action figures. In any case, the family table was massive, and it was always full of great food. After attending the Pennsylvania Culinary Institute in Pittsburgh and working in the Virgin Islands, he returned to the US mainland and began working at a string of rather unusual locales, museums. Specifically the prestigious Smithsonian
As a child, he hung around the restaurants with his mother and sometimes went to the back to help out, as he enjoyed doing it. He also spent summers with his paternal grandparents in Philadelphia, where he got early exposure to the Caribbean flavors. Last but not least, traveling opened his eyes to different cuisines. He had a taste of everything: from apple pie to Native fried bread, from maple syrup to ethnic foods, and more. It was something that the family emphasized. “My parents and grandparents never really skimped on (food)… we will pay the premium for great food and experience,” he says. It was not only restaurant food, however, that Chef Grant remembers. Coming from a family of mixed heritage, one of
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