In Anthony Jones’s kitchen, all sorts of flags fly, including his own. Executive chef at award-winning restaurant Marcus DC, Jones has reached culinary heights (James Beard Award semifinalist for Emerging Chef, anyone?), yet he’s just getting started. 

Briefly stepping away from his award-winning station, Jones took a moment under a different set of lights. Recently, he temporarily gave up his post at the restaurant for a starring small-screen slot on the latest season of “Top Chef,” which debuted in March. (The show airs weekly on Bravo and Peacock). 

Before his strategic slice-and-dice competition, however, Jones, who identifies as gay, draws from his deep DMV roots. In the years before “Top Chef” and the top chef spot at Marcus, he was born and raised in Sunderland, Md., in southern Maryland, near the Chesapeake.

Early memories were steeped in afternoons on boats with his dad bonding over fishing, and wandering the garden of his great-grandparents spread with fresh vegetables and a few hogs. “It was Southern, old-school ethics and upbringing,” he said. “Family and food went hand in hand.” Weekends meant grabbing bushels of crabs, dad and grandma would cook and crack them. Family members would host fish fries for extra cash. In this seafood-heavy youth, Jones managed time to sneak in episodes of the “OG” Japanese “Iron Chef” show, which helped inspire him to pursue a career in the kitchen.

Jones moved to D.C. after graduating from college, ending up at lauded Restaurant Eve, and met famed chef Marcus Samuelson, who brought him to Miami to be part of the opening team for Red Rooster Overtown. After three years, Jones moved back to D.C., where he ran Dirty Habit, reinventing and reimagining the menu, integrating West African flavors and ingredients.

Samuelson, however, wouldn’t let a talent like Jones stay away for too long. Pulling Jones back into his orbit, Samuelson elevated Jones to help him open his namesake restaurant Marcus DC, which has been named a top-five restaurant by the Washington Post. Since then, Jones has been nominated as a semifinalist for the RAMMYs Rising Culinary Star in 2026 and won the Eater DC’s Rising Chef award in 2025.

Samuelson’s Marcus is a tour de force interpreting the Black Diaspora on the plate, from the American South to West Africa, along with his signature “Swedopian” touches. Yet it’s Jones who has deeply informed the plate, elevating his own story to date. Marcus DC is primarily a seafood restaurant, which serves Jones well.

“Where I’m from is seafood heavy, and as I’ve progressed in my career, I’ve moved away from meat.” Veggies and fish are hero dishes. His own dish, Mel’s Crab Rice, was not only lauded by the Washington Post, but is framed by his youth carrying home the crustaceans from Mel’s crab truck. It’s a bowl of Carolina rice, layered with pickled okra, uni béarnaise, and crab. Jones also points to a dish on the opening menu, rockfish and brassica, paying respect to a landmark D.C. institution, Ben’s Chili Bowl. Jones reverse engineered a favorite bowl of chili that’s seafood instead of meat forward, leveraging octopus and rockfish along with different riffs of cauliflower: showing his intellectual, creative, and cultural sides.

While “Top Chef” is showing Jones’s spotlight side, he also lets his identity show at work. “In the kitchen, I make sure we’re inclusive. We don’t tolerate discrimination. Everyone that’s here should feel confident to express themselves. There are so many different flags in the kitchen.”

Jones says that he didn’t fully express his gay identity until fairly recently. He felt reluctant coming out to certain family members, “you’re scared to tell them about being different,” he says, and while that anxiety ate at him, “I’m lucky and fortunate to have unconditional love and that weight off my shoulders.”

Today, “I’m me all the time, Monday to Sunday. I’m honest with people, and my staff is honest with me.”

“Being a chef is hard,” he says, “and being a chef of color is even more difficult.”

Yet his LGBTQ identity is a juggling act, he says. “I need to keep that balance, because once someone finds out something about you, their opinion can change, whether you want it or not.”

Being on a whole season of TV cooking competition, however, might mean millions more might have an opinion of him (Jones has appeared on TV already, on an episode of “Chopped”). To prepare, he says, “I’ve just kept a level head. It’s just an honor to be on top chef with amazing people happy to be there.”

Plus, this season is set in the Carolinas, and Jones attended  Johnson & Wales University in Charlotte, N.C. “It’s a full story of my life, now a monumental moment for me.”

Jones also recently was nominated for a James Beard Foundation Award. “JBF has been a north star, a dream for so long. I always had this goal on my wall.”

Being at the top spot at Marcus DC, making waves through his accolades, and cooking on Bravo means that Jones is highly visible. “I think that if someone has a similar background to me, and can see our story, trajectory, and success, they can have more ability to be themselves. This is my goal.”

Back at Marcus, Jones has plenty up his chef’s white’s sleeves. A new spring menu is in the works. He’ll be launching a new tasting menu “dining experience,” he says, and has plans to work on more events and collaborations with chefs and friends to bring in new talent and share the culinary wealth.

The Torchbearers Awards are more than recognition—they are a continuation of legacy. They honor the quiet architects of progress in our community: those who organize, advocate, build, and protect, often without fanfare but always with purpose. Rooted in a belief in intentional recognition, this honor names those who carry our movements forward—those who make room for others, who remind us that change is both generational and generative. In a time marked by uncertainty and challenge, these leaders push forward with courage, clarity, and an unwavering commitment to expanding opportunity and equity.

This year’s honorees reflect the full breadth of our community, spanning generations, backgrounds, identities, and industries. From Legends, with decades of leadership and having created pathways for others, to Illuminators, who are lighting new paths with creativity and innovation, each Torchbearer represents the power of intergenerational leadership and the strength found in our diversity. They are organizers, advocates, artists, policy leaders, healers, and changemakers whose lived experiences shape a shared vision for equity and liberation.

This award is our love letter to queer and trans women and nonbinary people who carry the flame when it would be easier to let it dim. To those who consistently show up, who use their voice and visibility and stand firm, often without recognition, so that others may live more freely and fully. The Torchbearers Awards celebrates not just what has been done, but the enduring spirit, responsibility, and collective care that ensure the work continues, and that the flame is always passed forward. 

Co-Creators of the Torchbearers Awards: Shannon Alston, June Crenshaw, Heidi Ellis

Torchbearers Awards Advisory Board: Aditi Hardikar, Lesley Bryant, Jasmine Wilson-Bryant, Stephen Rutgers

ILLUMINATOR AWARDEES

1. Representative Sharice Davids (she/her), (D, KS-03)
   — U.S. House of Representatives
2. Greisa Martinez Rosas (she/her/ella)
   — Executive Director, United We Dream
3. Paola Ramos (she/her)
   — Journalist & Correspondent
   
4. Meagan A. Fitzgerald (she/her)
   — Journalist & Correspondent
   
5. Jessica L. Lewis (she/her)
   — Founder / Producer, Play Play DC
   
6. Savannah Wade (she/her)
   — Founder,  OAR Agency
   
7. Suhad Babaa (she/her)
   — Filmmaker/ Former Executive Director of Just Vision
   
8. Ashlee Davis (she/her)
   — Global Head of Inclusive Outcomes, Ancestry
   
9. Jazmine Hughes (she/her)
   — Journalist and Former Editor at New York Times Magazine
   
10. Queen Adesuyi (they/she)
    — Policy Advisor & Organizer, ReFrame Health & Justice
    
11. Michele Rayner, Esq. (she/her)
    — Civil Rights Attorney, State Representative (Florida House of Representatives) 
12. Gaby Vincent (she/her)
    — Sports/Cultural Commentator and Community Leader
13. Jenny Nguyen (she/her)
    — Founder & Owner, The Sports Bra
14. Denice Frohman (she/her)
    — Independent Artist, Poet / Performer
15. Vida Rangel (she/her)
    — Founder, Our Trans Capital
16. Roxanne Anderson (they/them)
    — Executive Director, Our Space
17. Ann Marie Gothard (she/her)
    — Co-Founder & President, Pride Live (Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center)
18. Diana Rodriquez (she/her)
    — Co-Founder & CEO, Pride Live (Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center)
19. Wendi Cooper (she/her)
    — Founder / Executive Director, Transcending Women
20. Toya Matthews (she/her)
    — City of San Antonio, Texas
21. Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones (she/her)
    — Sports/Cultural Commentator and Community Leader
22. Charity Blackwell (she/her)
    — Poet, LGBTQ Advocate & Community Leader
23. Wilhelmina Indermaur (she/her)
    — Director of Communications, Tyler Clementi Foundation
24. Em Chadwick (she/her)
    — CMO, For Them & Autostraddle
25. Kylo Freeman (they/he)
    — CEO, For Them & Autostraddle

LEGEND AWARDEES

1. Sheila Alexander-Reid (she/her)
     — Executive Director, PHL Diversity, Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau
   
2. Cassandra Cantave Burton (she/her)
   — Interim Director of Thought Leadership & Senior Research Advisor, AARP
   
3. leigh h. mosley (she/her)
     — Photographer / Educator, PhotoFlo Photography
   
4. Jenn M. Jackson, PhD (they/them)
     — Assistant Professor of Political Science; Author & Columnist, Syracuse University
   
5. Jordyn White (she/her)
     —  COO, Washington Prodigy / VP of Leadership Development & Research, HRC Foundation
   
6. AJ Hikes (they/them)
     — Deputy Executive Director, ACLU
   
7. RaeShanda Lias (she/her)
   — Digital Creator, RL Lockhart
   
8. Donna Payne-Hardy (she/her)
   — Educator, EEO Specialist, Founder of NBJC, Former Leader at the Human Rights Campaign
9. Courtney R. Snowden (she/her)
     — Principal, Blueprint Strategy Group
   
10. Gaye Adegbalola (she/her)
    — Musician & Activist, Musician / Inductee of the Blues Hall of Fame
    
11. Cheryl A. Head (she/her)
    — Independent Author, Novelist (Crime Fiction)
    
12. Letitia Gomez (she/her)
    — The American LGBTQ+ Museum, Board Chair 
13. Lynne Brown (she/her)
      — Publisher, Washington Blade 
14. Shay Franco-Clausen (She/Her/Ella/Queen)
    — Political Strategist and Organizer
    
15. Melissa L. Bradley (she/her)
      — Founder & Managing Partner, New Majority Ventures
    
16. Meghann Burke (she/her)
      — Executive Director, NWSL Players Association
    
17. Victoria Kirby York, MPA (she/they)
      — Director of Public Policy & Programs, National Black Justice Collective
    
18. Joli Angel Robinson (she/her)
      — CEO, Center on Halsted
    
19. Jeannine Frisby LaRue (she/her)
      —  CEO, Moxie Strategies
    
20. Alice Wu (she/her)
      — Film Director (Saving Face, The Half of It) / Screenwriter
    
21. Storme Webber (she/her)
      — Interdisciplinary Artist / Educator, University of Washington
    
22. Kim Stone
    — CEO of the Washington Spirit, Washington Spirit
    
23. Mickalene Thomas
      — American Visual Artist, Mickalene Thomas Studio
24. Erika Lorshbough (any/they/she)
    — Executive Director, interACT
25. J. Gia Loving (she/ella)
      — Co-Executive Director, GSA Network

Longer and warmer days are back meaning: It’s time to get out of the house and enjoy Washington D.C.’s many events. Below are a few to check out this spring.

The National Museum of Women in the Arts will host “Making their Mark: Works from the Shah Garg Collection” until Sunday, July 26. This exhibition illustrates women artists’ vital role in abstraction, considers historical contributions, formal and material breakthroughs and intergenerational relationships among women artists over the last eight decades. For more details, visit. NMWA’s website. 

Art in the Attic will host a pop-up on Saturday, March 14 at 6 p.m. at 1012 Madison St., Alexandria, Va. There will be a variety of vendors selling products across different modes of art. For more details, visit Eventbrite.

Play Play will host “Indoor Recess – The art of play” on Sunday, March 15 at 2 p.m. This event will embody classic recess energy, including opportunities to build and experience community and connections through games, movement, art stations, and creative freedom. Tickets are $12.51 and can be purchased on Eventbrite. 

Spark Social will host “Gay Bar Crawl on U Street” on Friday, March 20 at 7:30 p.m. This will be a fun night out in gay D.C. with other gay people, whether you’re visiting D.C., new to the area, or just looking to expand your social circle. Many crawlers have formed lasting friendships and even romantic relationships after just one night out. Tickets are $35.88 and are available on Eventbrite. 

Creative Suitland Arts Center will host “EFFERVESCENT: House of Swann” on Saturday, May 30 at 7 p.m. This will be a gay, good time where we will celebrate love, joy, wellness, and visibility for the LGBTQIA+ community. Tickets start at $17.85 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.

SWAG Works DC will host “Unapologetically Her” on Saturday, March 14 at 2 p.m. at 701 E St., S.E. This event is a powerful celebration of womanhood, resilience, creativity, and self-expression in honor of Women’s History Month. This all-women exhibition highlights the diverse voices, stories, and artistic perspectives of women who create boldly, live authentically, and stand confidently in their truth. This event is free and more details are available on Eventbrite. 

9:30 Club will host “Gimme Gimme Disco: A Dance Party Inspired by ABBA” on Saturday, March 14 at 6 p.m. There will also be a “Donna Summer Power Hour – The Queen of Disco” segment during this event. It’ll be one hour of music with no skips. Tickets are available on 9:30 Club’s website. 

Harder Better Faster Stronger will host “Heated Rivalry Rave” on Friday, March 20 at 9 p.m. at Howard Theatre. This event is open to all ages. Tickets are available on the theater’s website. 

CAMP Rehoboth hosts its 25th annual Women’s+ FEST, April 9-12 in Rehoboth Beach, Del. Entertainers include headliner Mina Hartong, a comedian, storyteller, and founder of Lez Out Loud; and singer Yoli Mayor. There are dances, dinners, pickleball, and much more. Details and tickets at camprehoboth.org.

Also in Rehoboth Beach, the Washington Blade’s 19th annual Summer Kickoff Party is set for Friday, May 15 featuring Ashley Biden, who will accept an award on behalf of her brother Beau. State Rep. Claire Snyder-Hall will also speak. More speakers and the venue to be announced soon.

The annual D.C. Cherry Blossom Festival kicks off March 21 at DAR Constitution Hall and culminates with Petalpalooza on April 4, the day-long, outdoor street party with music and art, stretching across Navy Yard, and ending with fireworks over the Anacostia River.