Sharila Stewart
MAPLEWOOD, NJ — Sharila Stewart spent a lot of time watching the Bravo cooking show “Top Chef” in 2020, when she was stuck at home during the COVID-19 pandemic quarantine. She was reading about the show online when she came across an application to be on a spinoff of the show, for which home cooks are paired with “Top Chef” alumni and compete in head-to-head challenges in the kitchen. Stewart decided to give the application a shot and eventually found herself in a professional kitchen in Portland, Ore., filming an episode of “Top Chef Amateurs,” which airs tonight, Aug. 5, at 9 p.m.
“I’ve cooked in my own kitchen and for my family, but with lights and professional equipment I put myself to the test,” the Maplewood resident said in a phone interview with the News-Record on Aug. 2. “It was a different challenge for sure. I had to watch the clock and also keep track of things like, ‘How do I use the oven? Is it on?’ I didn’t have time to find out.”
Stewart learned a few things from being on the show, chief among them having a plan.
“You have to keep your station organized,” she said. “Have a plan; know how to keep everything organized. If you don’t, all that does is create chaos and stress. I also learned about how to use different seasonings and became more skilled that way.”
Stewart’s food education didn’t end when the episode filming wrapped. Stewart is in Ghana right now, spending time immersing herself in the food culture of West Africa before she heads back to law school in the fall at New York University. She’s been in Africa throughout the summer, also having spent time in Ivory Coast.
“I’d wanted to travel here for a while, and this was a good time to do it, before going back to school in person,” Stewart said. “I’ve been exploring and tasting different foods, seeing the different cultures and seeing the way people cook.”
Stewart is documenting both the food she tries and the interviews she conducts with the people she meets on her journeys on her blog at www.thediasporicdish.com. The blog is not a project exclusive to her Africa trip; it also features cookbook reviews, posts about New Jersey and New York restaurants, and tales of her own cooking experiences. This summer, Stewart has been documenting what she’s learned in Ivory Coast and Ghana; it’s different from what she’s accustomed to here at home.
“I think, number one, food is hospitality here,” she said, referring to West Africa. “At home you have gatherings, but here it’s every day, it’s a daily thing. We think about cooking when people come over as a kind gesture, but here it’s how they welcome you.”
Restaurant culture in West Africa is different from in the United States; Stewart said most people there eat at home, with the exception of street food. They often cook in outdoor kitchens with coal pots.
“There are things I would never see in America,” she said. “If they can make this happen here, then I should be able to cook more, even for myself, at home.”
Stewart has been staying with her in-laws, and immersing herself in the culture has helped her get a grasp of it in a short period of time. The language barrier has been a challenge, but she’s been learning Hausa, which many people in Ghana speak.
“I’ve been learning it,” Stewart said. “If you talk slowly, I’m able to have a conversation. It’s been immersive.”
Stewart will be there until the end of August. Originally from California, Stewart is excited to resume her food tour of the tristate area, which she started when she moved to the area to go NYU a few years ago, when she returns.
“It’ll be sad to leave. The people are so warm and welcoming,” she said of West Africa. “But I’m excited to get back to where I know everything. I’ll be back in person in the city, and I would have a day every week where I tried a different neighborhood. So that was a lot of fun.”
Woulibam Restaurant, a Haitian and Caribbean eatery in Maplewood, has become one of her local favorites; there are also other pan-African restaurants in the area that she and her husband frequent. It’s different from growing up in California, she said, where eating out mostly meant going to chain restaurants.
“There are so many cultures here,” Stewart said. “It doesn’t compare, with having so many different types in a small area.”
Stewart’s goal, upon completing law school, is to be a working lawyer. But Stewart hopes to maintain a balance between her career aspirations and her love of food.
“Sometimes people want to put you in boxes,” she said. “A part of me was trying to make it fit for a while, but ultimately this is an outlet for me. You should have robust hobbies.”
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