Clark County Commissioner Tick Segerblom handed James Beard Award-winning chef Kwame Onwuachi the key to the Las Vegas Strip last Thursday, honoring the New York City native for bringing his Afro-Caribbean steakhouse Maroon to SAHARA Las Vegas earlier this year. The ceremonial presentation unfolded outside the restaurant before a sold-out crowd arrived for the Las Vegas stop of his nationwide cookbook tour.
According to KLAS 8 News Now, the ceremonial honor recognized Onwuachi's contributions to Las Vegas' culinary landscape following the opening of Maroon at SAHARA Las Vegas earlier this year. Segerblom joined Onwuachi outside the restaurant for the presentation, which took place ahead of the sold-out tour stop celebrating his cookbook, All Hours: Crazy Good Food for Whatever, Whenever.
Maroon itself has drawn national attention as a distinctive addition to the Strip's dining scene. The restaurant is billed as the first Caribbean steakhouse in Las Vegas, according to Forbes, which also reports that a live-fire jerk pit anchors the center of the dining room. Onwuachi's own website notes that Maroon marks his first West Coast restaurant, blending his signature mix of Nigerian, Creole and Afro-Caribbean influences into a menu of more than 50 items reinterpreting steakhouse classics.
An Evening of Stories, Photos and Recipes Brought to Life
After the key presentation, the celebration moved inside for the All Hours dinner, an exclusive multi-course dining experience that showcased vibrant flavors, global influences and personal food tied to Onwuachi's cookbook. The dinner featured dishes inspired by his recipes, bringing the book's pages directly to Maroon's tables.
Chef Kwame spent the evening visiting with diners, sharing personal stories behind the cookbook and its dishes, snapping photos and celebrating alongside guests, the outlet reported. It capped a night that tied a civic honor, a national book tour and a hometown-style dinner into a single Strip stop, with the ceremony serving as a fitting prelude to the sold-out gathering that followed.
From a Bronx Kitchen to the Culinary Institute
Onwuachi's path to the Strip traces back to his mother's Bronx apartment, where his love for food began, per Onwuachi's official website. His mother ran a catering business, an early influence on the chef long before he trained at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. By age 30, he had already opened five restaurants, establishing himself as one of the country's most closely watched culinary talents.
In 2022, Onwuachi released his first cookbook, My America: Recipes from a Young Black Chef, a project that predated the All Hours book now anchoring his current tour. His accolades have piled up over the years: he was named one of Food & Wine's Best New Chefs, Esquire magazine's 2019 Chef of the Year, and a 30 Under 30 honoree by both Forbes and Zagat. He was also named to Time's 100 Most Influential People of 2025, and his New York restaurant Tatiana, at Lincoln Center, was named the number one restaurant in New York by The New York Times for two consecutive years.
That résumé is part of why Clark County chose to mark his arrival on the Strip with a ceremonial key rather than just a ribbon-cutting. With Maroon now open and the All Hours tour rolling through Las Vegas, Onwuachi's blend of Bronx roots, Caribbean flavors and national acclaim has found a new home on SAHARA's dining floor.
