“NaFasi” is Swahili for space, or opportunity. Chef Maynard McMillan opened the kitchen in October 2020 — mid-pandemic, on his own terms — to serve the food he grew up on, finished with the discipline of the rooms that trained him.
Maynard grew up in a Trinidadian-American family that believed everything important happened around food. He went to Morehouse, served in the U.S. Navy, then enrolled at the Art Institute of Washington in 2013 — finishing with a culinary degree and a job offer at The Source by Wolfgang Puck in DC.
From there, the Zuma kitchen in New York: izakaya by way of Tokyo, plated for guests who could tell the difference between a knife held with intention and one held by reflex. Three years of that. Then back to Baltimore.
NaFasi opened in October 2020 with no front of house, no investors, and no Plan B. Five years later, the kitchen serves weddings, private dinners, corporate off-sites, and a Wednesday-through-Saturday counter at Hollins Market.
Two convictions guide the kitchen. First: every plate should be traceable to a farm, a waterman, or a maker we know by name. Second: hospitality is a contract — if a guest gives you their evening, you give them a meal that respects it.
We work with Maryland crab from the Eastern Shore, lamb from a Pennsylvania family farm, koji from a Baltimore producer, and seasonal vegetables from Hollins Market growers. Plant-forward menus are not an alternative — they are a default. Dietary needs are not an inconvenience — they are part of the brief.
The community piece is operational, not aspirational: NaFasi hires from West Baltimore, mentors apprentices through Baltimore City’s culinary programs, and reinvests profits from the Hollins counter into Saturday-only free meals during Ramadan and Lent.
“A Trinidadian-Japanese fusion that has no business working as well as it does. Chef McMillan is one to watch.”— Baltimore Magazine, “Best New Catering 2024”
“The Hollins Market counter is the most quietly ambitious lunch in West Baltimore.”— Baltimore Sun
“Service so calm you don’t notice it. Plates so good you can’t talk through them.”— Yelp · 4.3 ★
“We had thirty Indian, vegan, halal, and gluten-free guests at one wedding. Maynard didn’t blink.”— Birdeye · 4.3 ★
Tell us about your event and we’ll write back inside one business day with a draft menu and a starting-at price.
Inquire about catering