Alexander Smalls, James Beard Award winning chef, author, and raconteur was the visionary co-owner of renowned restaurants, The Cecil and Minton’s. Critically acclaimed and located in the heart of historic Harlem, Minton’s, the birthplace of BeBop in the 1930’s, harkened back to the Jazz Age evoking a sexy supper club with live music serving Low Country cuisine inspired by Smalls’ childhood. His award-winning restaurant, The Cecil, NYC’s first Afro-Asian-American restaurant, was named “Best New Restaurant in America” by Esquire in 2014.

A 2019 recipient of a James Beard Award for his cookbook, Between Harlem and Heaven, Alexander was recently bestowed the Creative Spirit Award from the Black Alumni of Pratt by the inimitable Ms. Cicely Tyson.