Tarik abdullah the taste of ink

By Angela Fichter

Early in his career, chef Tarik Abdullah wanted to do more than work in a restaurant.

Why are cooking skills so important?

Abdullah: This is what we’re supposed to do, and it only makes sense to pass on these skills to children. He said: ‘I just want healthy food. Born to Muslim parents who moved to Hillman City when Abdullah was about 3, he says he grew up surrounded by Middle Eastern and Mediterranean friends, and thus, the food of those regions.

But today I have to realize that seven or eight hundred thousand people might watch this tonight. My father’s debut of his Tasty’s all-beef sausage in 1981 in the Central District has to be my most poignant food memory (pork casings were the norm at the time and Abdullah’s family is Muslim). What, one wonders, could be bigger than getting Bourdain’s approval on prime time TV?

With Abdullah, any guess is as good as any other, but probably not half as interesting as whatever he’s got cooking. Food is empowering for Abdullah, and he believes cooking is a necessary life skill.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 12 percent of Americans are facing food insecurity—the majority of whom are black and brown, young and poor.

Work on a simple but well-rounded 45-minute dish for a few weeks and start to modify the recipe.

We live in Washington where access to great fruits and vegetables is a blessing. I know there’s a group of kids who want to learn how to cook, and I want to teach them. He plays a vital role in who I am today.

Fichter: Everyone’s been waiting for the official opening of Black & Tan Hall, something you call the culmination of your life’s work.

Once you leave the U.S., cooking at a young age is the norm. He, himself, is wearing several red and black beads on his thin wrists, a stylish short-sleeved light blue oxford-like shirt with a snappy white collar and a dark blue apron. I try to help them understand that you don’t have to do the norm.

And who can blame him?