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TO WELCOME RENOWNED CHEF AND AUTHOR ALEXANDER SMALLS BACK TO SOUTH CAROLINA AS HE SPEAKS AT "AN EVENING WITH ALEXANDER SMALLS" IN HIS NATIVE SPARTANBURG AND TO WISH HIM CONTINUED SUCCESS IN ALL HIS FUTURE ENDEAVORS.
Whereas, chef, restaurateur, author, and opera singer Alexander Smalls was born February 7, 1952, in Spartanburg to Johnnie Mae Smalls and Alexander Smalls, Sr. A 1970 graduate of Spartanburg High School, he attended the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, where he received his bachelor's degree in opera in 1974. He also attended the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, between 1974 and 1977; and
Whereas, in 1977, this classically trained baritone toured professionally as an opera singer. As a member of the Houston Grand Opera, he performed in the Gershwin opera Porgy and Bess. The audio recording of the production earned Grammy and Tony Awards in 1977. He studied opera and culinary arts in Europe and, upon returning to the United States in the late 1970s, founded his own catering business, Small Miracle. In 1994, he launched his first restaurant, Café Beulah, in New York City, specializing in Southern revival cooking that combined Gullah and international cuisines. Then, in 1996 Mr. Smalls opened Sweet Ophelia's, a casual dining venue featuring late-night live entertainment in New York City's SoHo neighborhood. He went on to open the Shoebox Café, an upscale Southern bistro in New York City's Grand Central Terminal; however, the restaurant closed in 2001 in the aftermath of 9/11. He founded a second catering business, Smalls & Company, which served a celebrity clientele. In 2013, he and Richard Parsons opened two restaurants in Harlem, Minton's and The Cecil; and
Whereas, regarded as the father of Southern revival cooking, Alexander Smalls appeared on television news and magazine shows on NBC, CNN, ABC, CBS, and the Food Network. He also appeared in numerous publications, including Food & Wine, the Washington Post, New York Times, New York Daily News, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and Crain's New York Business. He was also the author of the memoir and cookbook Grace the Table: Stories and Recipes from My Southern Revival, which featured a foreword from legendary jazz musician Wynton Marsalis; and
Whereas, on Tuesday, April 10, 2018, Alexander Smalls, now living in New York City, will visit his native Spartanburg to speak at "An Evening With Alexander Smalls" and to discuss his newest cookbook, Between Harlem and Heaven: Afro-Asian-American Cooking for Big Nights, Weeknights and Every Day. The event will be hosted by the Spartanburg County Library at 151 South Church Street and sponsored by the Hub City Writers Project, which seeks as its worthy mission to "nourish writers and cultivate readers"; and
Whereas, the new cookbook has received much praise. In two of the most renowned and historic venues in Harlem, Alexander Smalls and co-author JJ Johnson have 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 criss-crossed cuisines all around the world. They present in this cookbook for the first time over one hundred recipes that go beyond just one place, taking you, as noted by the New Yorker, "somewhere between Harlem and heaven"; and
Whereas, it is with great pride that the members of the House of Representatives recognize the accomplishments of Alexander Smalls, an outstanding South Carolinian, and welcome him back to the Palmetto State. Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:
That the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives, by this resolution, welcome renowned chef and author Alexander Smalls back to South Carolina as he speaks at "An Evening With Alexander Smalls" in his native Spartanburg and wish him continued success in all his future endeavors.
Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to Alexander Smalls.
This web page was last updated on April 5, 2018 at 10:35 AM