Chef David Thomas is a chef and entrepreneur from Baltimore, MD, where he grew up watching his grandmother prepare culinary masterpieces from scratch. In her small kitchen, he learned at an early age that quality ingredients are the foundation of great food. This is the guiding lesson that led to the success of his restaurants, Herb & Soul and Ida B’s Table, and the foundation of H3irloom Food Group.
David’s 25+ years in the industry began in 1992 when he and his wife, Tonya, started a catering company that they owned and operated for eight years. From there, David continued to expand his breadth of knowledge in the catering and restaurant industries, working at Maryland establishments large and small over the years, including Metropolitan Kitchen/Lounge in Annapolis, MD, where he unveiled his true culinary vision and developed his signature cuisine: modern soul food. Looking to make a mark of his own, David, alongside his wife Tonya, opened Herb & Soul, a farm-to-table and sustainably driven carry-out restaurant, in 2012, and later became the executive chef and partner of Ida B’s Table in 2016. Both restaurants have been recognized for numerous awards for David’s inspired approach to soul food.
In 2019, Chef David was asked to be a part of a James Beard Foundation Juneteenth Celebration Dinner that brought together African American chefs from all over the country who are solidifying the roots of soul food. He was also given the opportunity to collaborate and cook with world renowned chefs from all over the globe at Guinness Meatopia, taking his culinary community global. David traveled with well-known chefs to Senegal and Cameroon, is a 2021,2023 JBF Bootcamp Alum, cooked at the Bayhaven Food & Wine Festival for 3 years, Charleston Wine & Food, speaker at SXSW 2022, and a JBF Legacy Advisor.
In 2020, Tonya and David stepped away from their restaurant to establish H3irloom Food Group with long-time friends Floyd and Linda Taliaferro, and in 2024 acquired full ownership. Today, the 100% Black, Woman-owned company’s portfolio includes dining experiences, catering, restaurant concepts, food service management and the award-winning H3 product line, working together to uplift the Black food narrative and provide a deeply personal approach to the Black food experience that’s rooted in history and culture.
David has been featured on multiple television shows, including Sara Brown’s Tasty Travels’, CBS This Morning, Sherry Shepard, and Food Networks Bite Club Champion 2019. He has now competed on Food Network’s Chopped competition three times. Ultimately, he earned the title of Chopped Grand Champion in February 2020. He has gone undefeated three times in the Chopped Kitchen. Today, David also works on several passion projects, such as Tastewise Kids in Maryland and joining other chefs and cultural creatives to establish the Muloma Heritage Center on 38 acres on St. Helena Island, South Carolina. Through each of his ventures, David has remained true to his aim of reclaiming the narrative around African American cooking and soul food traditions, sharing its legacy and being part of its evolution.