An Evening with the Incomperable Alexander Smalls: Maestro of Stage, Song & Table

Alexander Smalls. Smalls is a James Beard Award-winning chef, author, and restaurateur. He has owned five critically acclaimed restaurants, including The Cecil, voted best new restaurant in America by Esquire Magazine, and Minton’s Playhouse, birthplace of Bebop. Smalls’s restaurant Cafe Beulah, was one of the first contemporary “fine dining restaurants” celebrating African American food in the country. Smalls founded and co-owns Alkebulan, the first African Dining Hall in the World, showcasing the food and culture of Africa, opened four years ago for Expo 2020 in Dubai. Smalls was featured in season two of the acclaimed Netflix documentary “High on the Hog.” Smalls is also a renowned opera singer and the winner of both a Grammy and a Tony Award for the Houston Grand Opera, RCA Recording of Porgy & Bess. A culinary activist and public speaker, Smalls is the author of five books, including Meals, Music & Muses, Between Harlem & Heaven, Grace the Table, The Contemporary African Kitchen, and his new children’s book, When Alexander Graced the Table. Alexander received a doctorate from his alma mater Wofford College in 2023. He presently resides in Harlem, New York City.  

Charla Jones.  Jones is a lifelong food enthusiast and advocate for the arts. She draws inspiration from generations of creative, entrepreneurial women—from her grandmother’s Midwestern speakeasy to the global kitchens and cultures she’s explored. Before launching eu2be, she led a Boston and Paris-based creative marketing agency serving both small businesses and Fortune 500 brands. Today, she continues to champion creativity, wellness, and beauty through her board work with the ICA/Boston, New York Live Arts, and the Boston Public Art Triennial.