The One Ingredient Chef Kwame Onwuachi Wishes More Home Cooks Would Have in Their Pantry

Chef Kwame Onwuachi has a cultural background as rich as his culinary creations. It’s one that brings the flavors of Nigerian, Creole, and Trinidadian food to fellow foodies at his New York-based restaurant Tatiana, which was named the city’s best restaurant for the second year in a row by the New York Times. “Our cuisine deserves to be put on a pedestal, and I’m happy to put it there,” says Onwuachi, who is busy putting the finishing touches on his third restaurant, West African-inspired Dogon, which is scheduled to open at the Salamander DC hotel this September.

Well-seasoned dishes are sure to be on the menu created by the former Top Chef contestant (2015) and current guest judge, and may even feature one of Onwuachi’s spice favorites: fennel pollen.  

As Onwuachi explains in his cookbook, My America: Recipes from a Young Black Chef, flavorful food is not as difficult to create as you might think — the key is having the right spices on hand and at the ready to season your food. Great chefs always have a “secret” ingredient up their aprons that they use to switch up the flavor profile and add an unexpected twist to a dish, and for Onwuachi that wild card is fennel pollen. 

Not all spices have the reputation of being able to transform a dish, but fennel pollen does just that — people don’t call it the “spice of the angels” for nothing.

Harvested from the blooms of the fennel plant, the powdered spice is grown primarily in California and Italy (the spice was actually introduced by Italian immigrants in the 1990s). It packs lots of flavor, delivering a complex taste that starts off savory and finishes with sweet and citrusy notes. 

Onwuachi is not afraid to experiment with food, and he says more home chefs should explore and integrate this anise-adjacent ingredient if they haven’t already. “Fennel pollen is really, really citrusy and bright and has a very nice flavor profile,” says Onwuachi. He suggests seasoning salads with the vibrant and versatile spice, or combining it with a pinch of salt and using it as a “finishing salt” over eggs, as well as your favorite fish or meat dish. 

Fennel pollen costs considerably more than your average fennel (upwards of $20 for half an ounce), so you may want to save it for those extra-special meals that require you to add a little special seasoning to make a good dish great. What you use it on is up to you, but be prepared to have this spice take your meals to a whole other level. 

Not a fan of fish or meat? This spice is also known to work its magic on vegan and vegetarian dishes, like roasted vegetables or pasta with tomato sauce. Your hardest decision may just be deciding what not to try it on. 

What’s your go-to spice for sprucing up meals? Tell us about it in the comments below.