CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) – Charlotte has a big appetite and Chef Andarrio Johnson has the receipts to prove it.
“Fried shrimp, collard greens,” he said in the kitchen, looking at the backorders at Cuzzo’s Cuisine on North Tryon Street. “Wings and lobster mac. Oh look, you all brought the business, man, you all brought the business, ha ha!
Quality ingredients are not enough. His jovial demeanor is immediately obvious.
“If you don’t cook with love, you’re not cooking! haha,” she said, laughing and smiling as she prepared lunch.
“We’ve got it going, I’m about to show you some shrimp and grits,” Chef Johnson says, walking us through his process. “That’s exactly how we serve it.”
After 30 years in the business, he is even wiser.
“Whatever you do, discover your purpose in life, man. “I discovered my purpose,” says Johnson, owner of two traditional Cuzzo establishments (a third is closed indefinitely due to fire) and a couple of food trucks.
He wants to show the community that having that purpose has power.
“Welcome back!” he said this month, high-fiving a young woman.
Their free “Kickin’ it in the Kitchen” classes expose young people to an art form.
“It’s the same thing, we just painted the picture of food,” Johnson told the group of students.
During the pandemic, Chef Johnson focused on feeding children. Now, through his nonprofit organization Culinary Connections, he helps feed them.
“Take care of your fingers, take care of your fingers. Right in the middle,” says Johnson, cutting up zucchini to go with the chicken they are cooking in this class. “Crescent sizes, keep your knife on the board.”
“When I grow up, I won’t have my sister to cook for me, so I need to learn,” said student Saira Maliki.
“I’m going to teach them a life skill,” Johnson says. “I want to try to reach them very young and see if (the culinary industry) might be a path they want to take.”
With his nonprofit, Chef Johnson hopes to put more skills on his plate. For example, how to be an entrepreneur, which is something that he has sometimes learned the hard way.
As a business owner, a trial by fire can be devastating.
“Just learn from my mistakes, man,” Johnson said, reflecting on a recent example of an obstacle he didn’t see coming.
In May 2023, an electrical fire destroyed their cooking location in west Charlotte Cuzzo. It remains closed indefinitely because it has no money for repairs.
It pains him to say that he did not read his insurance policy carefully enough before the fire.
“I think I’ve been covered all these years,” Johnson told Queen City News. “And I didn’t know they didn’t cover me because I didn’t have sprinkler systems in the building. So they didn’t tell me that, but it was written in the policy.”
Chef Johnson urges business owners to carefully read their insurance policies or seek help from an attorney to understand what is covered.
He wants to expand his classes to a camp or school that also teaches entrepreneurship. What she lost in the fire does not take away her pride in what he built.
Culinary Connections is your opportunity to invest in the next generation.
“Whatever your plan is, whatever you’re trying to do, just persevere and don’t give up,” Johnson said.
“Thank you for encouraging other kids to cook and be a good man in the community,” says student Rickie Jones.
“Now we’re cooking!” Chef Johnson said in class, the chicken sizzling in his skillet.
“Food opens many doors for you,” he reflected.
At the end of class, the most satisfying part is right in front of them.
“You made (the dish), you made it,” Johnson told the children.
“It tastes good,” one child reacted.
“Do you like it? First time you’ve had that?” says Johnson
The chef is known for his lobster mac and cheese.
But its potentially biggest impact has nothing to do with its menu, teaching students skills they can rely on for life.
