Meet Chef Deborah VanTrece: The Black woman running the kitchen at the world’s largest Centurion showroom

The world’s busiest airport is currently home to American Express’ largest Centurion Lounge. It is the largest showroom in Europe with an area of ​​almost 26,000 square feet networkand encompasses a locally inspired menu from Atlanta-based chef Deborah VanTrece.

As certainly one of the South’s most recognizable culinary personalities, the collaboration between VanTrece and AMEX was successful. “Many things went through my mind, knowing that it was the largest salon,” he tells ESSENCE. “Realizing that it was a world stage, I knew I had to take it into account. Throughout my career, I have created globally inspired food and soul food. I immediately felt like this was a place where I would connect.”

Drawing on the experience of a former stewardess and her family traditions, Chef VanTrece has prepared a custom menu that features dishes similar to black-eyed pea biryani, grilled za’atar chicken thighs with green tomato chimichurri, Twisted Soul salad with strawberry-pepper vinaigrette and far more. There will even be a food and beverage station offering gluten-free and vegan options, including protein snacks, salads, smoothies and immune-boosting juice shots.

With the recent Centurion Lounge, VanTrece wants to provide travelers from throughout the world a taste of Georgia’s capital. “It’s not only part of my history, it’s part of the Atlanta food scene for me,” says the award-winning culinary expert. “If you visit our restaurants here, the best restaurants, you will see many cultural twists using Southern ingredients. It’s something I’ve dedicated my entire profession to and I assumed I’d just stay true to who you might be and do what you do.

In addition to the chef’s rigorously prepared dishes, Hartsfield-Jackson’s Centurion Lounge features the chain’s first whiskey bar. The cocktail menu, curated by award-winning mixologist Jim Meehan, features five specialty whiskey cocktails and over 20 classic and recent American whiskeys. The lounge also encompasses a fully stocked primary bar with 10 wines hand-selected by Centurion Lounge sommelier and wine director Anthony Giglio, an on-site cocktail menu including non-alcoholic options, and signature drinks.

The nearly 26,000-square-foot lounge showcases commissioned artwork from local artists, a 50-year-old olive tree and a 3,850-square-foot custom light sculpture that depicts a forest cover, creating a soothing space for Cardholders to unwind before their flights. With this incredible aesthetic and unparalleled menu, Centurion Lounge is poised to change into an Atlanta mainstay for years to return.

ESSENCE: Chef Deborah, how did you originally partner with AMEX to pick dishes for the Centurion Lounge?

Chef Deborah: Believe it or not, I got a random email and I get random emails all the time. So you look and think, “Hmm, is that this true? I’m unsure. Pass this on to my family. We all look and say, “What do you think?” And consider that you most likely just made a backup. At some point, one other one got here. So we looked at it somewhat more seriously and said, “OK, let’s reach out and see what’s going on.” So I talked to a gentleman named Joe, I believe he’s from New York. He told me about the showroom and said, “We’re interested in you putting together a menu, curating that menu.” I knew it somewhat bit because Greg Collier from Charlotte is a friend of mine and a 12 months or two ago I said, “Okay, this is basically cool. Greg does it. This is amazing”. And that was the end for me.

So it was out of the blue that they contacted me and I used to be definitely interested, but I used to be still very cautious, cautious. It was a giant deal. And also looking at American Express, I assumed they were a giant deal. I worked with Resy, that is what we use for our reservation systems for all my restaurants. But seeing my brand going someplace else gave me some food for thought. So it took them a minute to discuss with me and persuade me and make me feel like you actually intend to make my food, you actually need to inform my story. And once I felt comfortable with it, I used to be on board.

What was the technique of creating the menu for this particular salon?

I got here and saw the showroom before I even agreed to it. It was absolutely beautiful. This is even at the construction stage. I believe this tree was something that completely amazed me since it was here after I first got here here and saw this space. I had numerous experience in food service, so I understood what was needed, after which it was very helpful to be a steward for years and to know what was missing. If you visit enough airports, there are things you’re going to get there, there are occasions you might be delayed, and there are belongings you wish you had instantly. So I used all of this stuff, deciding what would work well for the first cycle of this menu.

When people from throughout the world arrive at the Atlanta airport, what do you wish your food or this menu to inform them about the city’s culinary culture?

I would like them to feel the diversity of food culture. I also want them to feel love in food. I am unable to comment because I do not sit in the back of all those kitchens in those restaurants, however it was really vital to me that we cooked the food from scratch. I consider that each one cultures have their version of soul food because all of us have food that brings us memories that come from inside. I can offer you recipes, but the ending must come from the heart. I desired to be sure that that the heart, the hospitality, after they come here, on this beautiful setting, after which actually taste the food – they taste love. They taste like a fusion of cultures. They taste refined because the techniques and spices we use are refined.

So if you happen to’re not familiar, here’s just a few things we’ll walk you thru. And if you happen to recognize something, there’s something that can make you say, “Wow.” An Indian gentleman just got here as much as me and said, “I appreciate all the vegetarian options.” I look and there’s biryani on his plate, together with vegetable gumbo and a complete cake. And a smile appears on his face and he’s comfortable. This is what I hope to realize with the style of cuisine we wish to showcase.

With this amazing showroom opening during Black History Month, do you are feeling any extra excitement or extra resonance about being a Black female chef?

Yes, and I promise I won’t cry since it brings tears to my eyes. It’s beyond my imagination. I entered it when it called to me. I like cooking. And then at some point I assumed that everybody likes to cook – everyone knows learn how to cook. And it took me quite just a few years to understand, well, no, you already know something. You have somewhat area of interest that folks don’t really have, and attempting to maneuver in the world we’re in has been difficult. To get to the point where a world company looked at you and said, “You’re who we want,” it tells me quite a bit about my journey and what I’ve achieved, however it also tells me quite a bit about the company I work with.

And that was really vital to me that there was an organization that looked at this city and thought, “What can we do? How do we represent this city?” And he said, “This black woman, this African-American woman, is the one we want to represent the city.” So, since this particular month is occurring, I feel like we’re probably making history and I’m here for it. I’m here for this and I’m fully committed. I’m very grateful and appreciative.

When we talked, you used the term “soul food” quite a bit. If someone asked you, “What is soul food?” What would you tell them?

For me, it’s food that touches the soul. I believe for all of us there’s a certain style of food that brings back memories. We grow up with food from the moment you might be born. While you are in the belly, let’s have a baby shower, there’s food involved. Here children, there’s food. Holidays, weddings, death, food are throughout us and are definitely a component of everyone’s life. And when you may create a meal that makes you are feeling good, sometimes sad, but from place, that to me is food for the soul. This must touch you. Our food, African-American food, was born out of conflict, however it was also born out of affection. And we now have ancestors who couldn’t take anything and make something out of it. I keep joking, I believe there is a chitlins on that arm and a filet mignon on it. Which one is simpler to provide good taste? It’s filet mignon.

But these comfort foods, the ones that tell stories that folks at one point thought they were ashamed of. But how can we be ashamed of something that nourishes us and flows from love? So for me, I actually have a really broad definition of it, and likewise my small, microcosmic definition of what I grew up with. So what touches my soul might not be the same food that touches yours or hers. But if it touches us from the inside, that is the point. So like that gentleman who said, “Thank you for having these vegetables, this vegetarian option,” I touched something in him in a roundabout way. I do not know what it’s, but I did what I made a decision to do.