9 Black Chefs Changing The Food Game
We all love a good plate of food, and whether you're a vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, or still deciding, you can't deny the heavenly feeling of sitting down to eat a well-prepared meal. As black women, we have always been innovators in the kitchen, whether it's making leftovers seem like they're brand new, creating fabulous meals out of bare-bones groceries, turning cooking savvy into successful businesses, or changing the food game altogether. Here are 9 black female chefs who have done just that, using their culinary prowess to win in business and in the kitchen:
Sunny Anderson
A military vet, she's got more than 15 years under her belt serving as a professional chef, and she's hosted several hit shows including Food Network's Cooking for Real, and The Kitchen. She's also a New York Times best-selling cookbook author and creator of Infadium, a fun snack holder sold at Party City and on Amazon. Her dishes combine everyday food with the diverse tastes and flavors of her international travels.
Kelis
We all know her as the Grammy-winning, gloriously curly-haired singer who had Neptunes-produced hits, but Kelis has done a total career change as a fab farmer and chef. She hosted Netflix's Cooked with Cannabis, launched her own line of food products called Bounty & Full, wrote a best-selling cookbook, and has expanded the brand to include Gold Mine boxes that literally sell out in minutes after being announced via her IG page. Kelis favors unique ingredients that reflect her Puerto Rican and African-American background.
Kardea Brown
Kardea Brown is the host of Food Network's Delicious Miss Brown, where she shares southern cuisine from her South Carolina kitchen. Of Gullah/Geechee descent, Brown infuses the culture of African-Americans of the coastal region like beef and okra stew, Gullah red rice, and "Charleston-style" shrimp and grits.
Nyesha Arrington
Nyesha Arrington brings her Afro-Korean heritage to the dishes she creates and was introduced to foods like bulgogi, octopus, and kimchi at an early age, helping to diversify her palate. She's appeared on Top Chef, opened two restaurants, LA: Leone and Native, and has done successful international pop-ups. She now runs her own full-service chef consulting and catering service.
Mashama Bailey
A James Beard award-winning chef, Mashama Bailey brings Bronx swag and grit to the South with her dishes that incorporate history and culture. She's the executive chef and partner at The Grey, a restaurant in downtown Savannah, GA that is built inside a 1938 art deco Greyhound Bus terminal. The dishes include traditional Sunday dinner classics with a refined twist that might inspire you to take your own fried chicken meal up a notch.
Nina Compton
Nina Compton is another alumnus of Top Chef, and her roots go back to the shores of Saint Lucia. Compton, also a James Beard award-winner, served as a chef in some of the best restaurants in New York and Miami before opening her own restaurant in New Orleans called Compere Lapin, offering flavors of the Caribbean, Italy and France on the menu. She then went on to co-found Bywater American Bistro in New Orleans. She also serves as the Culinary Ambassador of Saint Lucia.
Kia Damon
Kia Damon came on the scene as a young self-taught phenom who made headlines at 24 when she became head chef at the chic New York eatery Lalito. She's also dominated Chopped this year and became the first culinary director at Cherry Bombe magazine. She also hosts an IG-based show called "On the Line" where she highlights leaders in the culinary space as well as culture's link to cuisine, activism, identity, and lifestyle issues. On top of that, Kia has launched Auxilio Space, a New York-based community platform that provides services, support, and jobs for queer, trans, Black and indigenous communities, in collaboration with nightlife and hospitality leaders Zacarías González and Mohammed Fayaz.
Kiki Bokungu Louya
Born and raised in Detroit with Congolese roots, Kiki Louya is the founder of two award-winning food concepts called Folk, and The Farmer's Hand that supported fair treatment of food and farm workers. She also founded Nest Egg Detroit, America's first all women-owned hospitality group.
Mariya Russell
As lead chef at Chicago's Kikko, Mariya Russell made history in 2019 as the first black female chef to head a Michelin-starred kitchen. The restaurant is special in that it's an omakase, a Japanese concept where the sushi chef decides what you will eat and provides multiple courses of delectable goodies, making for a unique dining experience. She's known for using ingredients such as shiokoji, a fermented liquid used in sake, and creative dishes like pickled green almonds, house-made tofu, and dashi.
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Smile, Sis! These Five Improvements Can Upgrade Your Oral Hygiene Instantly
This article is in partnership with Sensodyne.
Our teeth are connected to so many things - our nutrition, our confidence, and our overall mood. We often take for granted how important healthy teeth are, until issues like tooth sensitivity or gum recession come to remind us. Like most things related to our bodies, prevention is the best medicine. Here are five things you can do immediately to improve your oral hygiene, prevent tooth sensitivity, and avoid dental issues down the road.
1) Go Easy On the Rough Brushing: Brushing your teeth is and always will be priority number one in the oral hygiene department. No surprises there! However, there is such a thing as applying too much pressure when brushing…and that can lead to problems over time. Use a toothbrush with soft bristles and brush in smooth, circular motions. It may seem counterintuitive, but a gentle approach to brushing is the most effective way to clean those pearly whites without wearing away enamel and exposing sensitive areas of the teeth.
2) Use A Desensitizing Toothpaste: As everyone knows, mouth pain can be highly uncomfortable; but tooth sensitivity is a whole different beast. Hot weather favorites like ice cream and popsicles have the ability to trigger tooth sensitivity, which might make you want to stay away from icy foods altogether. But as always, prevention is the best medicine here. Switching to a toothpaste like Sensodyne’s Sensitivity & Gum toothpaste specifically designed for sensitive teeth will help build a protective layer over sensitive areas of the tooth. Over time, those sharp sensations that occur with extremely cold foods will subside, and you’ll be back to treating yourself to your icy faves like this one!
3) Floss, Rinse, Brush. (And In That Order!): Have you ever heard the saying, “It’s not what you do, but how you do it”? Well, the same thing applies to taking care of your teeth. Even if you are flossing and brushing religiously, you could be missing out on some of the benefits simply because you aren’t doing so in the right order. Flossing is best to do before brushing because it removes food particles and plaque from places your toothbrush can’t reach. After a proper flossing sesh, it is important to rinse out your mouth with water after. Finally, you can whip out your toothbrush and get to brushing. Though many of us commonly rinse with water after brushing to remove excess toothpaste, it may not be the best thing for our teeth. That’s because fluoride, the active ingredient in toothpaste that protects your enamel, works best when it gets to sit on the teeth and continue working its magic. Rinsing with water after brushing doesn’t let the toothpaste go to work like it really can. Changing up your order may take some getting used to, but over time, you’ll see the difference.
4) Stay Hydrated: Upping your water supply is a no-fail way to level up your health overall, and your teeth are no exception to this rule. Drinking water not only helps maintain a healthy pH balance in your mouth, but it also washes away residue and acids that can cause enamel erosion. It also helps you steer clear of dry mouth, which is a gateway to bad breath. And who needs that?
5) Show Your Gums Some Love: When it comes to improving your smile, you may be laser-focused on getting your teeth whiter, straighter, and overall healthier. Rightfully so, as these are all attributes of a megawatt smile; but you certainly don’t want to leave gum health out of the equation. If you neglect your gums, you’ll start to notice the effects of plaque buildup, which can irritate the gums and cause gingivitis, the earliest stage of gum disease. Seeing blood while brushing and flossing is a tell-tale sign that your gums are suffering. You may also experience gum recession — a condition where the gum tissue surrounding your teeth pulls back, exposing more of your tooth. Brushing at least twice a day with a gum-protecting toothpaste like Sensodyne Sensitivity and Gum, coupled with regular dentist visits, will keep your gums shining as bright as those pearly whites.
This Minimal Nail Design Is One Of The Fall's Biggest Mani Trends
What's a classic manicure look getting a fall 2023 aesthetic update? Look no further than the micro-French nails that are trending this fall. Minimal nail art ideas are in, and the super thin lines within the micro-French nail trend scream minimal chic when it comes to nail design choice.
If you're wondering exactly what to request from your nail tech, according to Cosmopolitan, there's been "a rise in micro-French manis on square nail shapes." And if you are in need of a little nail inspo to bookmark for your next appointment, we have you covered on that front, too.
Keep scrolling for design ideas for your future set of micro-French nails.
Micro-French Nail Art Ideas
Micro-French Fall Nails
Minimal Nail Art Designs for Fall
Fall Micro-French Nails
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