Cliff Rome Sets a Table at the Obama Presidential Center

The highly anticipated opening of the Obama Presidential Center has finally come on this Juneteenth holiday. Located on the South Side of Chicago in historic Jackson Park, visitors exploring the center’s museum and 19.3 acre campus will have the opportunity to engage with the story of President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama through this inspiring public space including dining options that reflect the joy of community gathering at the table.

South Side of Chicago’s Native Son

Leading the food and beverage program at the Obama Presidential Center is South Side of  Chicago native, chef Cliff Rome. “The magnitude of it all still hasn’t settled because it’s the buildup to the opening. Then it’ll be 36 months after that before you could really sit down and just take a look at the history that you’ve been part of,” says the chef about his role in the culinary program. 

The program at the Obama Presidential Center is in collaboration with his own catering/event company, Rome’s Joy Companies and Bon Appétit Management Company. Together they’re operating as BAMJoy to provide unique, Chicago-style dining experiences for the center’s private events as well as the public restaurant and cafe.

Growing up in the historic Englewood neighborhood, Chef Rome attributes his love for cooking, and his early training in the kitchen, to his grandmother. “I was probably around four years old. She had an old tin bucket in the kitchen and she used to make me stand on it and hold onto her house coat while she was frying so I wouldn’t get too close,” he recalls. “I was right behind her, but I could see everything she was doing.”

Those skills picked up in his grandmother’s kitchen were homed in while attending the culinary arts program at Chicago’s Kendall College and served to prep Chef Rome for a dynamic career. “I worked for Marriott and then I worked for Midway Airport Concessions. It was a combination of the things…some quick service kind of cuisine, fine dining and then catering on top of that. So it was a great mix of things,” he says about his earlier professional experiences. Some of which included working for chef/restaurateur Wolfgang Puck as well as the Cannes Film Festival.

During this time in his career, the chef divided his time between Chicago and Europe. “I was a chef with the American Pavilion, the hospitality center for the Cannes Film Festival,” he shares. “I was one of the chefs and I did that for about four years—and that took us from the South of France, to parts of Italy and Spain. So I did a lot of traveling during that time.”

In a culinary career that spans a little over three decades, sweet home Chicago always holds a place in this chef’s heart. He returned to the city in 2000 to form Rome’s Joy Companies, the parent company to several of his iconic Chicago-based establishments including: Peaches on 47th (a neighborhood restaurant serving southern comfort food), Rome’s Joy Catering, Parkway Social (a boutique co-working lounge and social club), Blanc Gallery (a fine arts and cultural space) and BAMJoy (the joint partnership with Bon Appétit Management Company that handles dining services at the Obama Presidential Center).

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Social Enterprise in Hospitality

As a way of giving back to his community and profession, Chef Rome created the RJC Institute.

He describes the accredited culinary program, created a year ago, as a “starter kit” for aspiring culinarians that focuses on barrier removal—addressing issues like transportation, childcare and mental health—to help students succeed. “What I learned is I was able to do a lot of what I’ve done and accomplished because I had incredible mentors,” says Chef Rome.

“For me, all the years that I’ve been in the kitchen is really about creating space and legacy, pushing the next generation of leaders out in the forefront so they’re able to not only fine tune what I’ve done and what I’ve been able to accomplish, but to be able to take it to the next level,” shares the 55-year-old culinary icon.

Rising stars in the program are given an opportunity to showcase what they learned in the culinary professional arena, including the Obama Presidential Center. “It’s not guaranteed everyone will have a landing space, but what we’re doing is we’re exposing them so that the desire builds up. We just took 11 students over and they worked in the kitchen. I think most of them were just blown away from just being in the building.”

The Obama Presidential Center Menu

Which brings us to how Chef Rome came to lead the food and beverage program at the Obama Presidential Center. “Bon Appétit approached me and said, ‘Hey, Cliff, there’s an opportunity to bid to manage food service at the Obama Presidential Center.’ I had gotten probably eight different offers to collaborate [from different companies] and I decided off the top that I would go with Bon Appétit because we were currently working together. After I had entertained conversations with other potential partners, they were definitely the best fit and it was the most natural fit,” recalls Chef Rome. Once they won the bid for the work, BAMJoy was born.

According to Chef Rome, working out what was on the menu for the Obama Presidential Center’s dining experiences came with some very specific requests. “President Obama was very clear that he did not want a reservation-only restaurant. He wanted a restaurant that you were able to walk up and you could easily identify every single item on a menu. He also wanted to be able to make it very relatable and then affordable…so lasagna, burgers, salad. We did Moroccan chicken (he did like that dish) then he said grilled cheese and chili,” shares Chef Rome.

President Obama, along with the center’s board and team, experienced everything on the menu during a special hours-long tasting session. “Everything you see on the menu, he tasted,” affirms the culinary pro, who revealed President Obama took careful notes about which items he wanted to include.

So does the president have a favorite? “He said, ‘This is the chili that we love.’ It’s a basic ground turkey based chili. But here was the thing, he eats a lot of stuff, but he’s simple, like really simple. So he’s like, ‘Man, listen, save all that fancy stuff for all the catering we have to do.’  We started laughing and he was serious.”

Some of the dishes that made the cut include seasonal offerings of soups, salads, sandwiches, wraps and personal pizzas including stand-out fares like Tafari’s Famous Ribs, Mrs. Robinson’s Red Rice and The Obama Burger.

These presidential-approved dishes can be found at the two Obama Presidential Center dining spots, Tafari’s Kitchen and Mahalia Jackson Cafe. Tafari’s Kitchen is a 125-seat restaurant named in honor of the late Tafari Campbell who was part of the White House kitchen team and later became the Obama family’s personal chef.  The restaurant celebrates the community table with locally sourced ingredients and was created to give guests the feeling of dining at a “loving kitchen table.” 

The Mahalia Jackson Cafe, named in honor of the famed musician and activist, provides indoor and outdoor seating and is great for grabbing a quick bite or taking a break with a beverage from a full barista menu while visiting the Obama Presidential Center’s campus. In addition, six local catering companies will serve in the Home Court venue, a space for community events, personal celebrations and conferences.

Chef Rome emphasizes that creating the menu for the Obama Presidential Center was a team effort, citing in particular the contributions of executive chef Doran Payne who is slated to handle day-to-day operations in the kitchens. “I’m not in the kitchen every day, that is a fact,” says Chef Rome. “So when I come on campus and I get a chance to do an event, there’s special events that I’m a part of or I’m leading, but our day-to-day operations, we entrusted that to Chef Doran because he’s more than qualified to be able to do it…I give our whole crews their kudos at this stage of what we’re doing. They do amazing work.”

A Permanent Home For Hope

There’s no doubt that amazing work was done by the Obama Presidential Center teams in creating a unique experience for all visitors. Michael Strautmanis, chief corporate affairs officer at the Obama Presidential Center calls out the community that coalesced with the individuals getting the center ready for its opening.

“What I have seen is heart. People really care about this place. They cared about their jobs. We had real experts in their different fields all come together to create something unique and people put their heart and soul into it,” he shares with Cuisine Noir exclusively.

“Long hours, yes, but all worth it because we knew we were a part of something bigger than ourselves. When people come in and experience it, I hope that’s what they feel. I hope they feel like somebody put their heart and soul into this to give them a wonderful experience.”

Obama Presidential Center CEO Valerie Jarrett sums up the vision, and reality, of the project. “Whether you come from across the street or from the other side of the world, the stories that you will see, the exhibits and the artifacts and the videos, hopefully people will see a piece in there that they can relate to that strikes a chord in their lives,” she said in her opening remarks to the press during the center’s Media Day earlier this month. “This is the permanent home for hope.”

Plan Your Center Visit

The Obama Presidential Center  is officially open, and is located at 6001 S. Stony Island Avenue in Chicago, Illinois.  The vast majority of the 19.3 acre campus is free and open to the public and features a museum, a Chicago Public Library branch, walking trails, gardens, several community spaces along with public art installations.

Museum entry is timed-ticketed and visitors are encouraged to reserve tickets online in advance. General admission pricing: Adult (Ages 12+)—$30, Illinois Resident (Ages 12+)—$26, Child (Ages 3–11)—$23, Children 2 and under—Free. The museum is free to Illinois residents on Tuesdays.

The Museum Experience is an immersive four-floor journey featuring social movements of the 20th century, the Obama campaigns,  presidency and life in the White House. A must-see is the full-scale replica of the oval office where you can take a photo behind a replica of the Resolute Desk.  Additional museum stops include viewing iconic pieces from Mrs. Obama’s wardrobe and The Sky Room located on the 8th floor that provides amazing views of the Chicago skyline.

The Forum is a community and civic space which includes the Elie Wiesel Auditorium, a state-of-the-art recording studio and media suite, Democracy in Action Lab, the Hadiya Pendleton Atrium and retail shop. When it’s time to eat, enjoy a meal or a quick snack at Tafari’s Kitchen and Mahalia Jackson Cafe. The Chicago Public Library branch includes an interactive media area. Don’t miss the Presidential Reading Room featuring a selection of the Obamas’ favorite books, music (Prince, Beyoncé) and art (including a Jean-Michel Basquiat basketball).

Home Court is a 60,000 square feet multi-purpose community space available for professional events, conferences, community events and personal celebrations. You can also hang around the NBA regulation-size basketball court and gymnasium.

Finally, public art installations and gardens guarantee beauty throughout the campus with seating areas conveniently located nearby. Be sure to stop by the Ann Dunham Water Terrace, an outdoor space created to celebrate the legacy of President Obama’s mother featuring a sculpture by artist Maya Lin. Other outdoor features to see during your first or second visit include the Eleanor Roosevelt Fruit and Vegetable Garden and the playground featuring oversized animal structures and sun-covered slides.

The Obama Presidential Center is expected to welcome over 1 million visitors a year. Museum tickets are going fast.  To check available dates and purchase, visit the center online. However, tickets are not required to visit free public spaces of the Obama Presidential Center.