The first Black-woman-owned culinary academy in the Southeast has opened in DeKalb County. Located at 1927 Lakeside Parkway in Tucker, the Culinary and Hospitality Enthusiast of the Future Academy (C.H.E.F.) celebrated its grand opening on Thursday and has grown from a summer community program into an incubator and education space to help build the hospitality careers of young people and entrepreneurs.
Founded by chef Simone Byron and hospitality leader and business owner Adeola Sokunbi, the C.H.E.F Academy is an extension of the nonprofit organization Navigate Foundation, which Byron founded in 2017. Navigate is a hospitality workforce development initiative that aims to empower youth from underrepresented communities to become the next generation of chefs. Since its inception, 200 students have graduated from the program.
They hope to replicate much of the essence of Navigate Foundation in the C.H.E.F Academy. But while a big focus is ushering young adults into the hospitality industry, the C.H.E.F Academy also hopes to reach people of all ages and backgrounds, from those who want to take a mixology class to creatives looking for filming locations.
But the root of it all: curating classes that foster community
“We have people that are training and doing classes pertaining to certain skills. We’re doing pasta-making classes. We’re doing pairing classes. There are classes for young people that are interested in baking a pastry in an after-school standpoint, where they can come in and do classes and earn certifications,” Byron said. “Working with the ACF [American Culinary Foundation] to provide a space for those certification programs to happen, which is really important for us.”
A Personal Mission
Many passions within the hospitality and restaurant industry stem from tradition, often passed down by family members and nurtured in the home. For Sokubi and Byron, it’s no different. And opening a first-of-its-kid culinary academy in a region whose foodways carry the industry, as two Black women, is not lost on them.
Sokunbi said the opportunity to open this academy is not only personal but cultural.
“To have that thought of, the first Black woman-owned in the Southeast, I just think about all the strong women in my family. My grandmother was a cook,” Sokunbi said.
“I think the biggest thing within the hospitality space is that if you ask anyone you know who taught you how to cook, a lot of times they say it’s their mother, their grandmother. But oftentimes they’re not the ones that are necessarily making waves when it comes from an industry standpoint, and so to be that example is important.”
As a chef who comes from a generation of cooks, the academy is more than a title for Byron; it’s a mission.
“For me, this is a family legacy. My great-grandfather was the executive chef for the Black Star Line, Marcus Garvey’s ship. Our whole family is geared and based in hospitality, so for me to be in the industry since 17, and moved through several large organizations, and be doing this as an individual, it means a lot to me holistically.
“This is not necessarily a graduation; this is a birthing of something that we don’t expect to just be in this space. What this will serve in several communities to come is very inspiring for me.”
To learn more information on ways to get involved with C.H.E.F Academy, visit The Navigate Foundation at thenavigateprogram.org
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