Article
July 14, 2023

Announcing Main Course 2023 Chef Chairs: Omar Tate & Cybille St. Aude-Tate of Honeysuckle Provisions! 

MANNA is excited to announce the passing on of the Main Course Chef Chair torch from Eli Kulp and Jen Carroll (Chef Chairs, Main Course 2022) to Omar Tate and Cybille St. Aude-Tate of Honeysuckle Provisions! We are honored to be partnering with Chefs Omar and Cybille to bring you an unforgettable night of fine dining at the Main Course 2023 on Thursday, 9/21 from 6:00pm – 10:00pm at Vie by Cescaphe. With their guidance and chefpertise, we’ve secured a show-stopping lineup of Philadelphia’s greatest chefs for this year’s Main Course, many of whom happen to be James Beard Award winners and nominees! To kick off this year’s Main Course blog series, the MANNA staff stopped by Honeysuckle Provisions in West Philly to catch up with our chef chairs and, of course, dine on some of their favorite offerings. Read ahead for an interview with Chef Cybille St. Aude-Tate:

MANNA is excited to announce the passing on of the Main Course Chef Chair torch from Eli Kulp and Jen Carroll (Chef Chairs, Main Course 2022) to Omar Tate and Cybille St. Aude-Tate of Honeysuckle Provisions! We are honored to be partnering with Chefs Omar and Cybille to bring you an unforgettable night of fine dining at the Main Course 2023 on Thursday, 9/21 from 6:00pm – 10:00pm at Vie by Cescaphe. With their guidance and chefpertise, we’ve secured a show-stopping lineup of Philadelphia’s greatest chefs for this year’s Main Course, many of whom happen to be James Beard Award winners and nominees! To kick off this year’s Main Course blog series, the MANNA staff stopped by Honeysuckle Provisions in West Philly to catch up with our chef chairs and, of course, dine on some of their favorite offerings. Read ahead for an interview with Chef Cybille St. Aude-Tate:

Q: Tell us about Honeysuckle Provisions.  

A: Honeysuckle Provisions is an Afrocentric grocery and café located in West Philly. Opened last October, our main focus is to provide our West Philly neighbors with locally sourced good food, produced by black farmers in the local tri-state area. Omar and I are keen on giving folks an education of black food ways while offering good and tasty food in their area.

Q: What do you believe is the best bite in Philly?  

A: Can it be our own food? Our turnip hoagie is grown locally- the turnips come from the Bartee Family Farm in South Jersey. The turnips are really special- we smoke and ferment them and then thinly slice so they replicate a soft turkey deli slice. We also make the bread! It’s a great vegan option if you take the cheese off, and a great alternative to a traditional Philly hoagie.

Q: What food automatically makes you feel better or puts you in a good mood?

A: Comfort food. Omar would likely say fish and grits. Mine would be a hearty crab stew that makes you feel whole inside. Typically, those are the dishes that take all day to make, which means you spent a lot of time nourishing that dish and making it for loved ones.

Q: What drew you to get involved with MANNA?  

A: When we started thinking about what Honeysuckle should be, we looked into MANNA as a case study of a successful organization feeding a lot of people — and doing it with intention. When we first toured the kitchen, we were really inspired because oftentimes people with dietary restrictions aren’t being catered to locally, nor do they have access to resources. Food should be nourishing and should be medicine.

Q: What is your favorite part of MANNA? 

A: Stepping into the kitchen and seeing how professional the operations are. [The MANNA kitchen] is a well-oiled machine, similar to corporate catering. Feeding people should be done with the same standard and regard. MANNA’s state of the art equipment and severe attention to detail shows how much care and concern goes into how food is being prepared for our critically ill neighbors.

Q: What role do you believe food plays in the community? 

A: Food has an opportunity to educate folks about history. It’s an opportunity to connect with people and is a great example of how we aren’t so different after all. Dishes may be called something different, but you see the same concepts all throughout the world.

Q: Why should people attend the Main Course? 

A: Aside from being able to participate and lend aid to a great organization, you get to try food from the best chefs in the city. Many of these restaurants have reservations that are packed out, or we have chefs who don’t do this type of thing too often. We are really bringing together a community of great talent.

Q: Out of all the other participating chefs, whose food/dish are you most excited to try?

A: Tabachoy! We haven’t been yet and I’m so excited to try Chance’s food. I love Filipino food and the moment it’s having.

Q: What are you most looking forward to at this year’s event? 

A: The Auction! I can’t wait to see what cool things and experiences are being auctioned off this year!

Speaking of that amazing lineup—stayed tuned over the next 10 weeks as we interview the following participating chefs/restaurants in the countdown to the Main Course 2023:

Tickets and sponsorship packages available here! 

Questions about tickets or sponsorship? Email Helen Kilmartin, Events Coordinator, at hkilmartin@mannapa.org

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.