Catherine Rusoff
Food is a significant part of the Juneteenth celebration, a federal holiday that commemorates the day the last slaves in Galveston, Texas, learned of their freedom, more than two years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation.
Across the country, more than 3,000 Black chefs and restaurants participated in Black Restaurant Weekwhich coincides with June tenthwhere many offer menus inspired by the June century.
Warren Luckett, founder of Black Restaurant Week, started the event eight years ago in Texas, where the Juneteenth holiday originates.
“We want people from all walks of life to be able to nominate their favorite black-owned restaurant, the same way they can nominate their favorite sushi restaurant or favorite Italian restaurant in town,” Luckett said.
Chef Hollis Barclay is confident it will be a favorite when customers try her food. Located under the subway tracks in Brooklyn, Barclay’s restaurant, Bleu Fin Bar and Grill, brings a taste of the Caribbean to Brooklyn. Barclay, known for her colorful drinks and dishes, wears vibrant outfits as she prepares her homemade Caribbean and Guyanese cuisine.
“When you eat my food, you are transporting the Caribbean islands,” Barclay said.
Barclay is proud to be part of New York City’s Black Restaurant Week. The dishes she prepared for “The Dish” are part of her special Juneteenth-inspired menu, which includes oxtail rolls and lobster mac and cheese.
As a Black Caribbean American woman, Barclay said she feels a connection to Juneteenth.
“We also had slavery,” she said. “So there is a connection between Caribbean Americans and Black Americans. We have the same legacy as the people.”
Barclay grew up in Guyana, in a family of more than a dozen family members, where cooking was essential. She learned her culinary skills from her family, including her aunts, who she describes as world-class cooks.
“My family members, yes. My aunts, excellent cooks, excellent. Excellent. World-class cooks,” Barclay said.
Now, Barclay brings his family’s culinary traditions to Bleu Fin Bar and Grill. Everyone who works in her kitchen is Guyanese and has been trained by her to make traditional dishes like Guyanese-style fried rice.
But Barclay’s path was not linear. She followed her mother to the US when she was 19 and, after graduating in fashion, worked several jobs.
“The entrepreneurial spirit kept calling me,” Barclay said.
Eventually, she opened one of the only black-owned spas in Brooklyn. Almost a decade later, her daughter suggested she open a restaurant, which she did shortly before the coronavirus pandemic to knock. They relied on takeout food to survive. Despite the challenges that came with the pandemic, Bleu Fin survived.
Now, Barclay is in talks to open another location at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport, and with continued support from the community, she believes they can thrive.
“I’m very optimistic about the future of my restaurant,” she said.
Jericka Duncan
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