These Beard House Fellows are Ready for their Next Step

For decades, cooking at the James Beard House has been an aspiration for many chefs and is considered a career milestone. In 2021, we launched the Beard House Fellows program, presented by Capital One, which re-envisioned the potential of this historic space into a hub of training and professional development for talented emerging chefs.  

Featuring alums of Careers Through Culinary Arts (C-Cap) partnered schools, each Fellow will have a ten-week residency at the Beard House, and will receive training in financial and legal matters, public relations, policy and advocacy, social media, and more. Fellows will also develop a Beard Box meal kit in collaboration with Great Performances, available for purchasing and shipping across the continental U.S., that also includes a special gift for Capital One cardholders. Lastly, to culminate the program, the Fellows will collaborate on a dinner at the James Beard House. Sign up for the waitlist to get your Beard Box and other Beard House-related news. 

Meet our new cohort of James Beard House Fellows for 2022-2023:

Jahqyad Austin 
Jahqyad Austin is ready to make his mark on pastry. An alum of The Culinary Institute of America, Jahqyad has refined his pastry skills at esteemed establishments such as Café Boulud and Eleven Madison Park in New York. Beyond fine dining kitchens, Jahqyad pays it forward by volunteering at Meals on Wheels and the Food Education Fund. Jahqyad hopes to own his own patisserie and restaurant group to further his mission of connecting people through food. 

Tonii Hicks 
A Philly native, Drexel University alumni, and chef rooted in the Philadelphia community, Tonii Hicks is “as Philly as it gets.” In high school, Tonii was introduced to the culinary arts program and immediately fell in love, and at the age of 14, she began working in professional kitchens all across the city. But as she has grown in her career, she has found her true passion lies in ending food insecurity in Philadelphia, evident in her work as culinary director of People’s Kitchen Philly and a culinary educator at Free Library of Philadelphia. Tonii hopes to own a commissary kitchen in Philadelphia that will provide access to hands-on culinary education and be a home for chefs. 

Adijatu Jallo 
Adijatu Jalloh was only eight years old when she realized she wanted to be a chef. Cooking throughout her childhood and teenage years, Adijatu began competing in culinary competitions and working in professional kitchens at the age of 16, including at Nobu57 in New York. Currently working as the head line cook at Cut by Wolfgang Puck, while simultaneously finishing her last semester at New York City College of Technology, this ever busy chef is also building out her business ventures: Adji’s Kitchen, a delivery catering business, and A.M.J Fusion, a traveling catering group for large groups and private fine dining experiences. With a mission of introducing African ingredients to the culinary lexicon, Adjiatu’s future plans include opening a fine dining African fusion restaurant and writing an African cookbook. 

Sign up for the waitlist to get more information about our Fellows and their upcoming Beard Boxes and dinner at the James Beard House. 

Learn more about the Beard House Fellows program, presented by Capital One.