Chef Furard Tate is the kind of man who never sits still. He flits from the order desk at Inspire BBQ back to the busy kitchen, where young men are seasoning sauce, cooking macaroni and cheese, and finishing off some dry-rubbed ribs smoked on a grill.
"We grill on a real grill," Tate says. "None of this electric stuff."
But as important as the food is, Tate says it's also important that it's made by young hands who must learn a slow, consistent process.
Washington, D.C., has a thriving restaurant market with a plethora of restaurants serving its multi-cultural residents. But this barbecue eatery offers more than food on its menu.
Inspire BBQ aims to reclaim troubled young people, teach them a trade, and give them a chance at success.
"When an adult realizes that a young person took that process and is actually learning how to make everything, it actually means even more, because it reminds us that: My education started at home," he says.
i i