Wumami Brings Global Flavor to Backyard Boogie in Richmond

When you think about a Backyard Boogie, there are a couple of things that probably come to mind: music, mosquitos, and OFF spray. A burger and hot dog off the grill, folks fanning themselves, and community. What you don’t expect is a culinary spread straight from a food truck parked out front that rivals a five-star restaurant.

Recently, The Richmond Seen had the opportunity to experience a euphoric kickback in the backyard of Chef Haus, owner/operator of the Wumami Food Truck. In the comfort of friends like Eye of the Giant, Silly Genius, and tunes by Hip-Hop Henry, we were taken on a world tour of the mastermind that is Chef Haus—who later told us about his adventurous palate even as a kid.

A native of Maryland but raised in the military melting pot of Norfolk, VA, Chef Haus wasn’t afraid to try a wide array of cultural foods. And it was that cultural upbringing that brought us to his backyard—and his menu.

The smash burger was not your average cookout burger. A marrying of everything a smash burger should be, two perfectly crisp smashed patties, cheese, pickles, onions, burger sauce, gooey, all on a perfectly grilled bun, was paired with crinkle-cut fries. The wings, which incorporated the Wumami 18-spice dry rub, led to the moment Chef Haus boldly asked:

“Who’s gonna put mushroom powder in their dry rub?!?!”

And he’s not lying.

The wings, fried crispy but with perfect moisture and flavor inside, were accompanied by Haus-made sauces like Gochujang Buffalo, Miso Blue, and, paying homage to his birth state, Mumbo Sauce.

Undeniably, the Wumami dry rub should be sold in markets throughout the city.

We also dived into The Wave: crab rice stuffed into a spring roll and deep-fried. Our sides included a beautifully sweet and savory curried purple cabbage and pineapple rice.

The food, so imaginably delicious, came as no surprise to us. We first experienced Chef Haus at this year’s Dilla’s Deli when he took over the kitchen at Charlotte’s Southern Deli and Tapas. Afterwards, we decided to hit Chef Haus up to get the origin behind Wumami, food inspirations, and what’s next in his growing food truck empire.

The Richmond Seen: So tell me a little bit about Wumami. And I think I’m pronouncing it right. Like what it is, what it means.

Chef Haus: So Wumami—a play on the word umami. Everything that is good in food, that’s the fifth taste. It’s called umami. I started selling wings out of the kitchen. I used to be that guy, selling the 20-piece in a styrofoam box from the house. In less than two hours, I’m out. I’ve been working with wings for years. I started at Asado’s in 2014, took their program over. The rub that goes on the wings, I’ve been working on it for like 11 years, man. I think 12. And I finally got the rub the way I wanted. Umami is a play on the word umami and my love for wings. What I wanted to do is just focus on the wing itself. Just give me the wing with some flavor.

TRS: What was the inspiration behind bringing two different food cultures together along with your own?

Chef Haus: So we were born in Maryland. But we were raised in Norfolk—heavy military presence. So there was a lot of Mexican food, Haitian, Jamaican. Filipinos were really heavy down there. Pacific Islander. All of these cultures were around as I was growing up, and I would eat at these places, and I would taste all of these different flavors, and I would be amazed. Then I moved to Miami when I was 22. And now I’m introduced into Cuban, Dominican, Barbados—islands that aren’t even on the map, you know?

Eating all those things, going to school for a little bit, I went to Johnson and Wales, and then coming back, and then just like, the people who were friends around me, man. Like, my neighbor was from Venezuela. I was 15. And he introduced me to his mother. They brought me next door, and they introduced me to pupusas and pickled elements. I always was just amazed, all these flavors. So Wumami, basically, the inspiration that comes from it is my journey of eating. And if I could just take all the flavors that I’ve experienced and put it into a menu or into food or into a rub, that’s what it is.

So what’s next for Chef Haus? Apparently, a food truck dynasty we all should be excited for.

Chef Haus: So right now, we’re in the doing phase. I have a few things, still doing pop-ups, of course. Like every two weeks or so, there’s a pop-up we do at Savory Grain. There’s one this Sunday. Over the summer, I’m planning to hit farmers markets. I have some connections with other food trucks. They’re gonna put me in with some breweries. I’m hitting events. We’re just gonna go light. And while we’re doing that, we’re gonna be building a catering menu. I should have that coming out here within the next couple of weeks so we can hit corporate offices. I’ll drop y’all 40 smash burgers, 20 pounds of chicken wings, and some sides. You know what I’m saying?

So that’s my thing. We intend to rock out for about a year and then see where that takes us. We might do a different concept in a year or so. A whole different get-up. A lot of people don’t know, I probably got some of the best biscuits in the city. I’ll do another trailer called Watch My Biscuits. Premium, premium biscuit sandwiches. You know what I’m saying? And then, you know, we’ll do a third one and call it something else.

We gotta snag these biscuits.
And what’s Chef Haus cooking for himself during the week? Not what you think:

Chef Haus: To be honest with you, man, I eat like trash. Most chefs, you know, I’ma keep it real. I don’t like to cook for myself a whole lot. I don’t cook, and my girl really doesn’t cook. We usually eat a lot of Thai, a lot of Asian. I was doing the Jamaican thing for a little bit. So it’s just whatever.

Typical chef.

You can catch Chef Haus and the Wumami Food Truck up next at The Savory Grain. Follow him on Instagram @wumami to keep up with pop-ups, catering drops, and—hopefully—the coming of Watch My Biscuits.