Chef Kwame Onwuachi of Tatiana at Lincoln Center in New York is a part of Motorola’s recent “Icons for Icons” campaign.
Motorola
When I push open the kitchen doors, I want to see a dining room full of diners, especially Brown and Black diners, who looking at their plates feel seen, celebrated, and recognized. And when I look in the mirror, I want to see a young black chef who made that world a reality.—from Notes of a Young Black Chef, by Kwame Onwuachi
More than ever before we are seeing chefs reach rockstar status. They are stepping out of their kitchens, starring on television shows, becoming their own brands, and transforming the world of food into movements that transcend delicious plates. Chef Kwame Onwuachi is one such chef, which is why Motorola chose him for its “Icons Behind the Icons” campaign.
From fashion and art to ancestry and all that’s potent and political, food has found itself at the intersection of every tenet of culture. And in many cases, it has turned its most passionate stewards into icons. At just 36, Chef Kwame Onwuachi has lived a few lifetimes–as any who’ve followed him or read his memoir could attest–in spite of or because of it, he is one of those chefs whose impact has become unmistakably palpable.
I never understood how someone could settle for less. Surround yourself with the subpar and you can’t blame anyone for thinking you are too. Surround yourself with the best, and the best rubs off…Don’t settle for a step down.
The new razr in hand, Chef Kwame Onwuachi says the new device brings on a flood of nostalgia as the Razr of the aughts was his first-ever phone.
Motorola
In Motorola’s current installment of the campaign, Chef Kwame has become a part of the brand’s celebration of cultural shape shifters whose talents and creativity actively drive culture. Other notables like celebrity stylist Erin Walsh and world-renowned tennis coach Patrick Mouratoglou have also been a part of the growing campaign, with “icons” from the world of beauty in line for 2026.
In the November 14 ad launch, viewers see Chef Kwame start and end his day with the Motorola razr Ultra. As it sits folded like a mini A-frame on the restaurant counter top or flush and flat in his hand, viewers see him talk to it, access reminders, add to a shopping list, or open a 90s Hip Hop playlist for the dining room. It is an ad of course, and yet, Chef Kwame was quickly all-in and even says the collaboration came about quite organically.
“Actually my first phone was a razr, so this collaboration–and technology today, actually–is all really rooted in nostalgia,” Chef Kwame said during our interview before the launch. “It’s been fun to merge my passion for culture with the campaign. And I’m able to tell my story and the story of Tatiana’s success through that collaboration.” Tatiana, Chef Kwame’s Afro-Caribbean restaurant in New York’s Lincoln Center, has been named one of the top 10 restaurants in the city for three years in a row.
Amidst the campaign Motorola captures Chef Kwame in fine-dining mode.
Motorola
“It has this cool tabletop presentation where it’s easy to take photos on the other side. I thought that was dope,” he added. “It’s like having a little assistant with you that you can see and talk to.” Although it seems rather radical from the first razr, released in 2004, Chef Kwame admitted, “The first razr felt radical at the time. It was top of the game then, and it’s top of the game now.”
About Chef Kwame Onwuachi
By 27, he had competed on Top Chef and had been named a 30 Under 30 honoree by Zagat and Forbes; He won the James Beard Foundation’s Rising Star Chef Award in 2019 and hosted the 2021 ceremony; Esquire Magazine named him Chef of the Year in 2019;
Tatiana in New York,
was
named the #1 restaurant in New York by The New York Times two years in a row; He was named on Time’s 100 Most Influential People of 2025; His memoir Notes from a Young Black Chef is being adapted for a feature film; and lastly, Chef Kwame recently debuted Las’ Lap restaurant in Miami and will soon open Maroon, at the Sahara in Las Vegas in 2026.
In terms of those chosen to represent the brand, Maria Jose Martin, Motorola’s North America Marketing Director, says, “The Motorola razr family has always represented bold design and innovation, and now it’s standing alongside the culture catalysts driving what’s next.”
The “Icons Behind Icons” campaign explores powerful people with purpose. Motorola wanted to highlight talented visionaries who’ve pushed boundaries and have challenged convention. From the streets of the Bronx to white table cloths; from time in Nigeria to time at the Culinary Institute of America; from being on the line to having lines out his restaurant doors, Chef Kwame has done that and more; and further still, he represents what many still hold onto as THE American Dream.
From old school cell phone to using it to create schedules and lists, the brand campaign shows Chef Kwame relying on the latest iteration for his whole world inside the kitchen.
Motorola
Motorola Firsts:
Motorola began as Galvin Manufacturing Corporation in Chicago in 1928 (and became Motorola in 1947-) and made the first commercially successful car radio in 1930.
In 1940, they developed the first walkie-talkie, the SCR-300, for use in World War II.
Motorola introduced the first pager in 1956.
In 1960, the company produced the world’s first large-screen portable television.
Motorola built the equipment that carried the first words from the moon during the Apollo mission in 1969
In 1983, Motorola launched the DynaTAC 8000x, the first commercial handheld cellular phone.
