After successfully running That Brown Girl Cooks catering for more than two decades, talented chef Kristi Brown opened Communion (2350 E Union St) restaurant in 2020. It was soon named one of the world’s 12 best new restaurants by Condé Nast Traveler, and in October, Brown opened Lil’ Brown Girl inside Métier Brewing’s Cherry Street Taproom. The James Beard-nominated chef shares her enthusiasm for cooking in Seattle.
Kristi Brown courtesy Communion
ON BECOMING PASSIONATE ABOUT FOOD
As a kid I used to sit in the kitchen and ask my dad, “Is it done yet?” He finally just looked at me and asked, “You wanna help?” I can’t ever remember not loving food. Meals have always been a part of my family life, a way of bringing people together to talk and eat.
ON DECIDING TO OPEN HER OWN RESTAURANT
I had been about to take another kitchen job and a dear friend said to me, “You need to start thinking about working for yourself, because you’re a horrible employee.” It’s true! I don’t like to listen, I’m strong willed. But all the things that make you a horrible employee make you a great entrepreneur.
ON HER APPROACH TO COOKING
Something I think about a lot is the experience I’m going to have when I eat in a restaurant. I want to smell the food when I first walk in, and I like a dish to have different textures. Like with our shrimp toast: The amazing focaccia we use from Grand Central Bakery (198 E Blaine St) is really fluffy, and then there’s the flavorful ground meat on top, and the fish—all those little bubbly eggs add texture—and finally the creamy sauce. All of that together creates such an experience.
ON COMMUNION BEING A FAMILY OPERATION
One thing in Seattle that I’ve seen is the legacy of families passing businesses on to each other, but I didn’t see this as much in the Black community. The main reason I have this business is that I wanted to be able to pass it along to my children.
ON WHERE TO EAT AND SHOP IN SEATTLE
The Central District is becoming such a community hub again, and I love being a part of that. There’s Métier Brewing Company (2616 E Cherry St), Fat’s Chicken & Waffles (2726 E Cherry St), and all of the East African restaurants. Also, we partner with a ton of local businesses. The sausage we use in the Scotch eggs at Communion we buy at a [Rainier Valley] market called Vientiane (3828 S Graham St). We get our collards from Clean Greens (116 21st Ave), a nonprofit that’s been farming locally for almost 20 years—they have a little stand in the Central District.
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