What Oxtails and Pelle Pelle Have in Common

People usually don’t think a braised oxtail and a Pelle Pelle jacket have anything in common.

Growing up between Far Rockaway, Harlem, Washington Heights, and the Bronx, I learned they tell the same story—not about food or fashion, but about value.

Harlem taught me that presentation mattered. A great outfit wasn’t about wearing the most expensive jacket. It was about intention. The colors had to work together. The textures had to make sense. The sneakers, jeans, and jacket all had to complement one another. Every piece had a purpose.

Years later, I realized I build plates the same way.

Every ingredient should have a purpose. Every color should belong. Every texture should support the next. Even the star of the dish should never overpower the entire experience.

Harlem taught me how to dress a plate long before I ever became a chef.

My relationship with oxtails is probably different from what people expect. We didn’t cook them often at home. They were a payday meal from Goodies in Far Rockaway or something shared by my mother’s and my aunts’ West Indian friends. As a kid, I complained about the “twigs and seeds” in the gravy. Today, I know those twigs were fresh thyme and those seeds were allspice—two ingredients I reach for all the time.

Funny how growing up changes your palate.

Black culture didn’t invent oxtails, but African American and Caribbean communities helped transform an overlooked cut of meat into a celebrated dish through patience, seasoning, technique, and tradition. The cut didn’t change. The way people valued it did.

Maybe that’s what Black culture has always done.

We’ve recognized value before the rest of the world did.

We’ve taken overlooked ingredients and turned them into tradition. We’ve taken fashion and turned it into identity. We’ve taken neighborhoods and turned them into culture.

Harlem taught me that style isn’t about what you wear.

Style is who you are.

It’s how you make people feel.

It’s what you find beautiful.

That’s the philosophy behind every plate at Harlem & Thyme.

To honor the culture that shaped me, respect every ingredient, and serve every meal with intention.

Because sometimes the most valuable things in life aren’t the ones everyone notices first.

They’re the ones someone cared enough to recognize.