Chefs and Restaurants

Marcelle Afram Went Public as Non-Binary to Advocate for Trans Restaurant Workers

Sabrina Medora

Marcelle Afram has become one of Washington, D.C.’s most beloved chefs, first gaining notoriety at the popular brewpub Bluejacket and later as executive chef of the Michelin-starred Maydan. But despite those professional successes, Afram struggled with depression and alcoholism that was exacerbated when the pandemic hit. A lifetime of soul-searching culminated in Afram publicly coming out as non-binary transmasculine last summer, an announcement that allowed them to...