Caribbean Food with Fat Fowl
Tucked inside DeKalb Market Hall at City Point BKLYN, Fat Fowl stands as a beacon of culinary innovation. The brainchild of chef-turned-celebrity Shorne Benjamin, this vibrant eatery has recently exploded across social media. Its buzz is powered by Benjamin’s inventive spins on Caribbean classics, drawing lunchtime lines of eager patrons hoping to sample specials like the oxtail grilled cheese or lavender rotisserie chicken.
Chef Benjamin’s journey began many miles away from Brooklyn, on the beautiful island of St. Lucia. Known for its dramatic Pitons and its cultural patchwork of Caribbean, African, French, and English influences, St. Lucia shaped his palate and perspective. Arriving in Brooklyn as a teen, Benjamin carried with him a vision of Manhattan as the pinnacle of success. Yet, it was Brooklyn that ultimately provided him with opportunity and belonging—a place now inseparable from his culinary identity.
Before embracing food professionally, Benjamin ventured down a different path. He studied finance in college and entered the corporate world, landing a job in the field. The financial crisis of 2008 struck unexpectedly, stripping him of his position and prompting a dramatic life pivot. Cooking, a skill revealed at age seven thanks to his grandmother’s guiding hand, resurfaced as both solace and solution.
Benjamin’s grandmother was a culinary matriarch—her restaurant in Soufriere a gathering spot, her Sunday dinners a family ritual. Under her quiet mentorship, he learned the fulfilling labor of feeding a community. It was her legacy of dedication and resilience that propelled him to train in some of New York’s most prestigious five-star restaurants, and later helped him survive the sometimes-brutal grind of the industry in a foreign land.
Like most restaurateurs, Benjamin weathered unprecedented hardship during the pandemic. In March 2020, his decade-long role at the Andaz Hotel evaporated overnight when the city shut down. With characteristic tenacity, he adapted: launching online tutorials, offering curbside pickup, and taking any practical step to keep his passion alive. When the chance arose to join DeKalb Market, he seized it, inaugurating Fat Fowl amid uncertainty and challenge.
The launch of Fat Fowl came with many struggles: scraping together capital, tracking down equipment, learning the daily intricacies of running a small business, and persevering through a financially lean first year. Building a reliable team posed its own unique trials. But ask Benjamin today, and he’ll tell you that starting Fat Fowl, despite its exhausting demands, has been one of the most rewarding chapters of his life.
Brooklyn, and particularly Downtown Brooklyn, became not just a backdrop but a partner in his creative process. The borough’s vibrant Caribbean community created a built-in fan base for “New Age Caribbean” cuisine, but Fat Fowl’s appeal extends further. Thanks to Brooklyn’s status as a crossroads of cultures and travelers, Benjamin witnesses a steady flow of locals and visitors willing to stand in line for a taste of something new.
What Benjamin relishes most is the connection—strangers stopping him on the street or in the subway to exclaim, “You’re the oxtail grilled cheese guy!” The energy and diversity of the neighborhood, the bridges Fat Fowl has built across backgrounds and palates, have humbled and motivated him in equal measure.
Beyond pleasing taste buds, Benjamin is on a mission to reshape perceptions of Caribbean food. Too often, the cuisine is confined to the familiar—comfortable, yes, but hemmed in by expectation. He argues that such narrow vision restricts innovation and discourages culinary adventuring, both among chefs and their guests.
With Fat Fowl, Benjamin demonstrates that Caribbean food can be at home in the world of fine dining. He reimagines traditional ingredients with a meticulous eye for freshness and presentation—elevating comfort food into new territory. The oxtail grilled cheese epitomizes this fusion: slow-braised oxtail, tender to the touch, meets Gouda cheese in a decadent, irresistible marriage of flavors.
The spirit of invention remains constant at Fat Fowl. Benjamin and his team refuse to rest on the laurels of past success; instead, they fix their sights on continued innovation and impeccable service. There’s talk of expansion, of introducing even more diners to the boundaries-pushing wonders coming out of his Brooklyn kitchen.
Through his creativity and persistence, Chef Benjamin has carved out more than a restaurant—he has built a culinary haven where tradition meets fearless change. Fat Fowl stands as a testament to the evolving story of Caribbean cuisine and to the relentless spirit required to bring such vision to life.
In challenging culinary stereotypes and elevating Caribbean food to new heights, Benjamin not only delights his customers but also paves the way for a richer, more inclusive appreciation of the Caribbean’s diverse flavors. Brooklyn is all the better—and prouder—for having Fat Fowl in its midst.
