![The Shaw Bijou's Kwame Onwuachi [Photo: R. Lopez]](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/tcF9_GT1zqSHT8Z7LZviZvGlx_U=/0x0:1280x854/2420x1613/filters:focal(314x97:518x301):format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/54136841/tastingmenu25.0.0.jpg)
Chef Kwame Onwuachi is making a D.C. comeback — for one night only.
It’s been about three months since the Top Chef alum’s highly-anticipated restaurant, The Shaw Bijou, imploded after a short lifespan. Now he’s offering up his talents to a pop-up kitchen in his first cooking appearance since the closure.
Mandu chef/owner Danny Lee recruited Onwuachi and a cadre of celebrity chefs for a charity cooking event scheduled to take place on at its K Street location on Friday, April 14, according to a recent Instagram post.
“We're excited to have him with us next weekend while he works on his next projects,” Lee writes.
Onwuachi’s the latest addition to the collaborative cooking event, called Anju, in which he’ll be prepping a variety of Korean inspired dishes alongside visiting chefs Hooni Kim (NYC’s Danji and Hanjan) and Francis Derby (Cannibal in NYC and LA), as well as locals Marjorie Meek-Bradley (Smoked & Stacked), and Johnny Spero (Columbia Room).
That gathering is being billed as a “cocktail party atmosphere” ($40 per person) featuring an assortment of small bites from the participating chefs as well as a complimentary cocktail from District Distilling Company.
The fundraising continues Saturday, April 15, with a sit-down, five-course dinner ($75 per person, including drink pairings, tax, and gratuity) co-orchestrated by Hooni, Lee, and Lee’s mother. Proceeds from the weekend dinners are expected to benefit Yori Chunsa (which translates to Chef Angels), a charity Hooni started in Korea. The program utilizes a network of chefs to provide training and employment to orphans in Korea.
