‘Top Chef’ Star Eric Adjepong’s First Public Restaurant Will Be a Fry Bread Counter

Fans of Eric Adjepong, the D.C.-based breakout star from Top Chef Kentucky, will soon get a chance to taste his West African-influenced cuisine without hiring him to compose a private dinner party.

Adjepong will open a fast-casual counter selling roti flatbreads and doubles — popular street snacks from Caribbean islands and South Asia made of fry bread and spiced chickpeas — this spring in Northeast D.C.’s Union Market food hall. On the Double marks the Ghanaian-American chef’s first solo project since debuting on Bravo’s popular cooking competition series in late 2018.

Adjepong says he got the idea for the food market stall while filming a challenge for the upcoming season of Top Chef All-Stars, which premieres on March 19.

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Nearby on H Street NE, Eater D.C. Chef of the Year Peter Prime serves his own version of doubles as an appetizer, but the dish might be new for many D.C. diners.

“I think this is an awesome opportunity to show people another side of the cuisine, or a cuisine that they may not have heard of. This is why I’m essentially trying to showcase the African diaspora through this roti shop,” Adjepong says.

“When you talk about roti and double, it’s just essentially a vessel,” he adds, noting that he can stuff the bread with flavors from Africa tol Trinidad and Tobago or Jamaica.

On the Double’s signature doubles feature a spicy cumin and turmeric fry bread layered with curried chana and aloo (chickpeas and potatoes). Adjepong adds pancetta, spiced Calypso sauce, and North African chermoula, which he describes as “almost kind of like a chimichurri.”

Bowls come with either fried doubles or baked roti. Protein options will include chicken yassa — a lemony dish from Senegal — along with curry goat, coconut curry shrimp, or stewed beef. Sides include jollof rice, fried plantains, and collard greens.

Diners can add on drinks like tamarind lemonade and a drink called sobolo.

Logo: On the Double

“It’s this really deep, magenta purple-colored drink, made from dried hibiscus,” Adjepong says. “t’s absolutely delicious.”

He expects checks to clock in at around $16 to $18, including sides and drinks.

Adjepong is passionate about introducing diners to West African dishes. Last spring, he collaborated with healthy meal delivery service Territory Foods on a roasted chicken jollof rice . Aside from running a dinner party company called Pinch & Plate with his wife, Janell Adjepong, the chef also recently taught classes on West African cuisine. He says the response encouraged him with this new venture.

“The biggest thing I learned was that people were excited about the food,” Adjepong says.

“I remember just most of the classes everyone that put the bug in my ear and my head that this is a concept that can really fly here in D.C.”

The hope is to open in late April and early May. Adjepong expects to spend plenty of time at the Union Market stall, which will replace the Arepa Zone counter.

“It is my baby, so I have to be there,” he says. “I’m really excited to serve food and meet the folks who are not only fans of Top Chef, but people that supported me in D.C. It’s been awesome, I’m a recent transplant — all of about four years now — but the amount of the support that I’ve gotten from the District has been like I’m born and raised here.”

Correction: Friday, March 6, 3:35 p.m. This article has been changed to reflect that the Arepa Zone is operating inside Union Market through March 2020.

• ‘Top Chef’ Star Eric Adjepong Designs Jollof Rice for Delivery in Four Cities [EDC]
• ‘Top Chef’ Kentucky Will Feature Another Contender From D.C. [EDC]
• Behind the Scenes of ‘Top Chef’ With Eric Adjepong, Sara Bradley, and Kelsey Barnard Clark [E]