James Beard Award-winning chef Andrew Black is bringing Bruce Springsteen's personal chef to Oklahoma City this weekend for a two-day culinary collaboration spanning two of his restaurants. Andre Fowles, a three-time winner of Food Network's Chopped, joins Black for an eight-course Caribbean tasting menu at Grey Sweater Saturday, followed by a Jamaican-inspired dinner at Dougla on Sunday.
The two-day experience begins Saturday, Oct. 17, at Grey Sweater and continues Sunday, Oct. 18, at Dougla, according to News 9. Black, who is a James Beard Award winner and restaurant entrepreneur, said Fowles traveled to the city specifically to collaborate, and the pairing represents a reunion of sorts: Fowles is described as Black's longtime friend. Both chefs share Jamaican roots, and Black said the pairing will bring flavor and taste together.
Saturday's event at Grey Sweater, located at 100 NE 4th Street, is an eight-course dining experience ranging from vegetarian dishes to meat, seafood and dessert courses. Fowles echoed that description, saying the courses move from vegetarian to meat, seafood and dessert. OpenTable's listing for the restaurant characterizes the menu as an eight-course modern Caribbean tasting menu crafted jointly by the two chefs.
A Sunday Night Built Around Fowles' Cookbook
Sunday's dinner shifts to Dougla, also located at 100 NE 4th St., where the menu will pull from Fowles' cookbook alongside dishes already on the restaurant's regular menu. Black described it as a collaboration drawing from Fowles' book and the menu items served at Dougla, while Fowles put it similarly, saying the pair planned a collab from his book and menu items served at the restaurant.
Fowles released his cookbook, My Jamaican Table, in March, and everyone attending this weekend's events will receive a personally signed copy, per the same News 9 report. Fowles said the collaboration celebrates culture and brings people together through food, adding that food connects people and combines Jamaican flavors with a global perspective. He said he expects attendees to be left speechless by the experience.
Black's Long Run Reshaping OKC's Dining Scene
Black has helped transform Oklahoma City's culinary scene since relocating to the city nearly 20 years ago, the station's report notes. He has said Food & Wine listed his restaurants among the seven most influential Caribbean restaurants in the United States. Dougla itself grew out of a personal mission: as the Oklahoman reported, Black closed his former restaurant Black Walnut to pursue a dream he had held onto for years — bringing the food he was raised on to Oklahoma City.
That Caribbean experience is inspired by Black's own upbringing, according to OKC FOX, which has covered Dougla Kitchen as his latest creation since the James Beard-winning chef unveiled it. Grey Sweater's own listing on OpenTable identifies Black as the 2023 James Beard Award winner for Best Chef: Southwest, underscoring the pedigree behind this weekend's pairing.
What's Next For The Collaboration
Black said he hopes the weekend marks the start of more collaborations between the two chefs, and he said Oklahoma residents will be the first to witness whatever comes next. For now, limited reservations are still available for the Saturday and Sunday dining experiences, and interested diners can book through Chef Andrew Black's website by selecting the Events tab. VisitOKC also lists the Grey Sweater night as a one-night-only collaboration between the two chefs as part of its Bricktown events coverage.
