ABOUT ME

MY STORY

Joseph “JJ” Johnson is a James Beard-Nominated chef best known for cooking food of the African diaspora at the beloved Harlem restaurants, The Cecil and Minton’s. Chef JJ is now widely known for cooking his culture at his joint venture The Henry by JJ and soon taking his cooking back to Harlem opening his new restaurant Fieldtrip a quick casual rice concept featuring global- inspired flavors

Chef JJ' s signature style of transforming simple cuisine with bold flavors and unexpected ingredients was inspired by the Caribbean flavors he grew up with, combined with African and Asian tastes acquired from his travels around the world.

Finding inspiration from music o develop profiles. Chef JJ is best known for curating the vibe of his restaurant by creating nostalgic dining experiences with 90’s R&B/Hip Hop Playlist.

Chef JJ is a firm believer in sharing health & culture through food and experience and is the newest host of “Just Eats with Chef JJ”, a cooking and lifestyle show that debuts in 2019 on TV One’s new CLEO network. He is also a renowned author of his cookbook, “Between Harlem and Heaven”

BETWEEN HARLEM
& HEAVEN

THE COOKBOOK

In two of the most renowned and historic venues in Harlem, Alexander Smalls and JJ Johnson created a unique take on the Afro-Asian-American flavor profile. Their foundation was a collective three decades of traveling the African diaspora, meeting and eating with chefs of color, and researching the wide reach of a truly global cuisine; their inspiration was how African, Asian, and African-American influences cuisines all around the world. They present here for the first time over 100 recipes that go beyond just one place, taking you, as noted by The New Yorker, “somewhere between Harlem and heaven.”

FIELDTRIP

A NEW ENDEAVOR

FieldTrip is a quick casual rice bowl shop set to open in Harlem in Spring 2019. FieldTrip is a celebration of rice and culture showcasing global flavors through bowls of freshly milled, unbleached, and un-enriched rices. They are the “granddaddy” heirloom grains of rices we commonly know today and each has its own history.

FieldTrip’s mantra, Rice is Culture, was born out of a realization that rice can be found at the center of tables of so many cultures around the world. Rice connects people. The cuisine is influenced by global flavors from Asia to Africa to America and the Caribbean.

JUST EATS

TV SHOW

TV One launched Cleo TV in Jan 2019, a lifestyle and entertainment channel offering a diverse mix of lifestyle and entertainment content through the unique lens of millennial and Gen X women. The network’s original programming lineup includes ”Just Eats With Chef JJ” where JJ creates signature dishes with his celebrity friends and social influencers.

BUZZFEED TASTY

ONLINE PLATFORM

Buzzfeed Tasty platform marks a crucial next step in the evolution of the brand. In today’s competitive media landscape, a lasting digital brand needs four key elements to realize its full potential: scale, brand recognition, ad effectiveness and talent. After turning an innovative video recipe format into a global food brand, Tasty is expanding further into episodic shows with a exciting group of chefs who will bring diverse, fresh, and often underrepresented points of view to the food world,”

Tasty currently reaches over 500 million people per month worldwide and attracts more than 2.1 Billion average monthly video views. JJ has the ability to create custom content to be distributed on Tasty’s platform.

PRESS

Other press includes:

Other press includes:

• Guest Judge Chopped
• Esquire Next Great Burger
• Somebody Feed Phil (Netflix)
• Panna Cooking
• The Harry Connick Jr. Show
• Pickler and Ben
• Hallmark

AWARDS & ACCOLADES

• Robb Report Best Young Chef (2018)

• James Beard Rising Star Nominee (2014)

• Star Chefs Rising Star (2014)

• Eater Young Guns (2014)

• Esquire Best New Restaurant (2014)

• Forbes 30 Under 30 (2013)

• The New Yorker Magazine 40 Under 40

• New York African Restaurant Week Chef of the Year (2015)

• James Beard Best Chef NYC Nominee (2019)