Chef Chaz Brown’s Third Annual Oxtail Collective Will Take Place This Month Featuring Over 15 of the Best Chefs From Across the U.S. and Caribbean
Chef Chaz Brown’s Third Annual Oxtail Collective Will Take Place This Month Featuring Over 15 of the Best Chefs From Across the U.S. and Caribbean
Chef Chaz Brown, in partnership with Forman Arts Initiative, will host the third annual Oxtail Collective on Sunday, August 30, from 1 to 5 p.m. This year’s event, titled “The Oxtail Collective Presents, The Hercules Posey Celebration,” will take place at The Substation, an event venue on Forman Arts Initiative’s new site on the 2200 block of North American Street in Kensington. The event also serves as an early public introduction to the site’s planned 100,000-square-foot arts and culture campus, which is expected to open in 2027. Tickets are available now on Eventbrite.
Brown has hosted sold-out Oxtail Collective events in 2024 and 2025. The event is described as a cultural experience centered on the intersection of food, art, business and history, bringing together chefs, entrepreneurs, creatives and cultural leaders to examine the role of African diaspora culinary traditions in shaping culture and economic opportunity in the United States.
“The Oxtail Collective is not defined by a single ingredient. Oxtail serves as a cultural metaphor, something that was once considered a discard cut, often given to the enslaved, but has now become a celebrated ingredient in global cuisine,” said Brown, a Trinidadian-American chef with more than 20 years of experience in fine dining, restaurant development and food technology. He said the ingredient’s transformation reflects a broader pattern within Black culinary traditions of elevating overlooked ingredients into items of lasting value.
Participating chefs this year include:
Omar Tate
Chad Williams
Charlie Mitchell
Nana Araba Wilmot
Yuen Fuentes
Chef RJ
Reggae Reggae Vibes
Chef Picky
Chef Corwin Hemming
BJ Dennis, RJ Robinson
Chef Quincy Logan
Shola Olunloyo
Gary McCready
Chef Jamir Cole
and Chef Montana Houston,
with additional chefs expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
Geoff Bennett of PBS NewsHour will serve as panel host for the event. Panel discussions will feature Dr. Tonya M. Matthews, President and CEO of the International African American Museum; culinary historian and author Ramin Ganeshram; and Gullah Geechee chef and cultural preservationist BJ Dennis. Additional panelists have not yet been announced.
The Sunday culinary experience will feature 15 chefs from across the United States and the Caribbean presenting a curated tasting experience reflecting regional diversity and cultural storytelling within Black cuisine. Programming will also include panel discussions on ownership, culture and business development, along with chef demonstrations exploring culinary techniques and cultural narratives.
A curated marketplace will feature local Black-owned businesses, restaurants and brands, giving attendees the opportunity to engage with founders and support local economic activity. The event will close with a live musical performance by Mia Taylor featuring Caribbean soca music.
“This event is designed to emphasize knowledge, connection, and application beyond the experience itself,” Brown said. He added that the event is intended as a scalable platform, with plans to expand into a national series in partnership with African American museums and cultural institutions across the country.
Tickets for the Oxtail Collective are available for purchase online.
