Mashama Bailey is an American

chef A chef is a professional Cook (profession), cook and tradesperson who is proficient in all aspects of outline of food preparation, food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term (), the di ...

trained in

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

technique who is currently cooking

Southern cuisine The cuisine of the Southern United States encompasses diverse food traditions of several subregions, including cuisine of Southeastern Native American tribes, Tidewater, Appalachian, Ozarks, Lowcountry, Cajun, Creole, African American cuisi ...

. In 2019, Bailey was awarded a

James Beard Award The James Beard Foundation Awards are annual awards presented by the James Beard Foundation to recognize chefs, restaurateurs, authors and journalists in the United States. They are scheduled around James Beard's May 5 birthday. The media awar ...

as best chef of the Southeast. In 2022, Bailey was awarded a

as Outstanding Chef.

Early life and education

Mashama Bailey was born to David and Catherine Bailey in the

Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

. She was the eldest of three with one sister and one brother. Bailey moved to

Waynesboro, Georgia Waynesboro () is a city and the county seat of Burke County, Georgia, United States. The population was 5,472 at the 2024 census. It is part of the Augusta, Georgia metropolitan area. Waynesboro is 37 minutes south of downtown Augusta by car v ...

at the age of 2,

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Brita ...

at 5, and then to

Queens, New York Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

when she was 11. Bailey learned to cook from her mother and grandmother. After graduating from

Francis Lewis High School Francis Lewis High School (FLHS) is a selective public high school located in Fresh Meadows, in the New York City borough of Queens. It is one of the most-applied-to public high schools in New York City with 9,468 applicants in 2016. Operated b ...

, Bailey attended

Sullivan County Community College SUNY Sullivan is a public community college in Loch Sheldrake, New York. It was founded in 1962 and is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system and funded in part by Sullivan County, New York. It is accredited by the Middle States ...

where she studied

physical therapy Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is a healthcare profession, as well as the care provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through patient education, physical intervention, disease preventio ...

and later switched to

social work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

. Early in her career, Bailey worked at a

homeless shelter Homeless shelters are a type of service and total institution that provides temporary residence for homelessness, homeless individuals and families. Shelters exist to provide residents with safety and protection from exposure to the weather whi ...

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. As the project underwent changes she was let go, an experience that became a catalyst for her to explore the

culinary arts Culinary arts are the cuisine arts of food preparation, cooking, and presentation of food, usually in the form of meals. People working in this field – especially in establishments such as restaurants – are commonly called chefs or ...

. She enrolled in Peter Kump's New York Cooking School, and after graduating began her culinary career at

Aquagrill Aquagrill was a seafood restaurant located at 210 Spring Street (on the corner of Sixth Avenue), in SoHo in Manhattan, in New York City. It was opened in 1996 by owners Jennifer and Jeremy Marshall and closed in June, 2020, due to the economic e ...

SoHo SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street, Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall ...

. Bailey, interested in exploring the wider range of careers available in the

, took a break from the restaurant industry, during which time she worked as a

personal chef A personal chef is a chef who is hired by different clients and prepares meals in the clients' home kitchens, based on their needs and preferences. Description A personal chef often meets with a client and customizes a multi-meal plan by determi ...

on the

Upper East Side The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the boroughs of New York City, borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded approximately by 96th Street (Manhattan), 96th Street to the north, the East River to the e ...

. This left some of her family concerned with the racial and class dynamics, as it seemed a return to how her grandmother migrated from

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

and worked as a maid. Bailey's grandmother worked within several households, one of the more famous being that of

Art Carney Arthur William Matthew Carney (November 4, 1918 – November 9, 2003) was an American actor and comedian. A recipient of an Academy Awards, Academy Award, a Golden Globe Awards, Golden Globe Award, and six Primetime Emmy Awards, he was best kn ...

. Working as a personal chef did not inspire Bailey as she had hoped, and during this time she applied for a work-study program that led her to Château du Fey in

Burgundy, France Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') is a historical territory and former Regions of France, administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from ...

. There she was mentored by

Anne Willan Anne Willan (born 26 January 1938 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England) is the founder of the École de Cuisine La Varenne, which operated in Paris and Burgundy France, from 1975 until 2007. La Varenne classes continued in Santa Monica, California, thr ...

who advised her to continue cooking in restaurants instead of exploring a culinary writing career.

Career

Bailey started her career as an intern at

in 2001, and also worked at David Burke and Donatella, and the Oak Room in the

Plaza Hotel The Plaza Hotel (also known as The Plaza) is a luxury hotel and condominium apartment building in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is located on the western side of Grand Army Plaza, after which it is named, just west of Fifth Avenue, ...

. In 2010, Bailey was hired at

Prune A prune is a dried plum, most commonly from the European plum (''Prunus domestica'') tree. Not all plum species or varieties can be dried into prunes. Use of the term ''prune'' for fresh plums is obsolete except when applied to varieties of ...

, where she was quickly promoted to

sous-chef A sous-chef is a chef who is second in command of a kitchen, ranking directly below the head chef in the Kitchen Brigade system developed by Auguste Escoffier. In large kitchens, sous-chefs are typically left in charge of managing members of th ...

and worked for four years. Startup entrepreneur John O. Morisano heard about Bailey through the chef and owner of Prune, Gabrielle Hamilton, and reached out to her about a long-abandoned, former Jim Crow segregated

Greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a dog breed, breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Some are kept as show dogs or pets. Greyhounds are defined as a tall, muscular, smooth-c ...

station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

he'd bought in

Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

. Across the street from the property is the Chatham County Courthouse where Bailey's parents were married in the 1980s. The restaurant, named The Grey, was nominated for the 2015

James Beard Foundation Award The James Beard Foundation Awards are annual awards presented by the James Beard Foundation to recognize chefs, restaurateurs, authors and journalists in the United States. They are scheduled around James Beard's May 5 birthday. The media awar ...

for Best New Restaurant. On October 15, 2018, Morisano and Bailey opened The Grey Market in Savannah inspired by Southern

lunch counter A lunch counter or luncheonette is a small restaurant, similar to a diner, where the patron sits on a stool on one side of the counter and the server serves food from the opposite side of the counter, where the kitchen or food preparation area ...

s and New York City bodegas. Since 2017, Bailey has served as chairwoman of the

Edna Lewis Edna Regina Lewis (April 13, 1916 – February 13, 2006) was a renowned American chef, teacher, and author who helped refine the American view of Southern cooking. She championed the use of fresh, in season ingredients and characterized South ...

Foundation, which works to "revive, preserve, and celebrate the rich history of African-American cookery by cultivating a deeper understanding of Southern food and culture in America."

Awards

* The Grey was named one of ''

Food & Wine ''Food & Wine'' is an American monthly magazine published by Dotdash Meredith. It was founded in 1978 by Ariane and Michael Batterberry. It features recipes, cooking tips, travel information, restaurant reviews, chefs, wine pairings and sea ...

'''s best restaurants of 2019. *Winner of the James Beard Award for Best Chef in the Southeast in 2019. * In 2018, she was nominated for the James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef in the Southeast. * The Grey was one of ''Food & Wine'''s best restaurants of 2015. * The Grey was the 2017 Restaurant of the Year from

Eater Eater may refer to: * Eater (band), an English punk rock group * "Eater" (''Fear Itself''), a 2008 episode of the NBC television horror anthology ''Fear Itself'' * ''Eater'' (novel), a 2000 science fiction novel by Gregory Benford * ''Eater'' ( ...

* The Grey was chosen as one of the best 100 places in the world by ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' in 2018. * Winner James Beard Award for Outstanding Chef in 2022.

Television

She was a featured chef in the sixth season of

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

's ''

Chef's Table ''Chef's Table'' is an American documentary series created by David Gelb', which premiered on video streaming service Netflix on April 26, 2015. The series takes viewers inside both the lives and kitchens of a variety of acclaimed and successful ...

'' and was a guest on season 14, episode 6 of ''

Top Chef ''Top Chef'' is an American reality competition television series which premiered on Bravo in March 2006. The show features chefs competing against each other in culinary challenges. The contestants are judged by a panel of professional chefs ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bailey, Mashama Living people People from the Bronx People from Savannah, Georgia American women chefs Chefs from Georgia (U.S. state) Institute of Culinary Education alumni James Beard Foundation Award winners Year of birth missing (living people) Chefs from New York (state)