Charlie Mitchell of Clover Hill is one of the very few Black chefs to be awarded a MICHELIN Star, and after winning the title of 2022 Young Chef from the New York MICHELIN Guide, a bright professional future is anticipated for him.
Charlie Mitchell was born in Detroit. Growing up, he wasn't exposed to the world of high-level gastronomy and didn't attend culinary school. A year after leaving college, at just nineteen, he began cooking at a well-known bar & grill in Detroit, but a desire to expand his knowledge led Charlie to work at "Forest" in Birmingham, Michigan, where he stayed and learned for 3 years.
Raised eating Southern food, he had no idea what many ingredients were when he started working in refined kitchens.
Later, he moved to New York where he became passionate about French and Italian cuisine. He worked in legendary kitchens such as “Eleven Madison Park” and the now-closed “Betony”. Eventually, he joined the team at “Villanelle”, a farm-to-table restaurant in Greenwich Village, where he further honed his technique. In 2020, moving to Washington, he opened “Jônt” where, alongside chef Ryan Ratino, he earned Two MICHELIN Stars just 10 months after opening.
In 2021, he returned to New York for the reopening of "Clover Hill" in Brooklyn Heights which, after some difficulties due to the pandemic, earned a MICHELIN Star. The high-level restaurant environment was and remains dominated by white individuals, and the number of Black chefs holding MICHELIN stars is scant, but it is Mitchell’s background that instilled in him a love for food and hospitality, which he speaks of as a superpower. At the restaurant, an intimate and refined venue with only 34 seats in one of New York's wealthiest neighborhoods, Charlie and his team make the most of top-notch seasonal ingredients, delicious sauces, and thoughtful pairings.
In 2022, Charlie won the New York MICHELIN Guide award for talented young chefs, and in 2023, he received a nomination as a finalist for the Emerging Chef title from the James Beard Foundation.
