Conversations with Avane Johnson

 

Today we’d like to introduce you to Avane Johnson.

Hi Avane, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I am a first-generation American born to Jamaican parents. Cooking is such a major part of my culture. When I was younger, I would always watch how my family cooked. I loved how food always brought us all together. I’m was born in Chicago and later moved to Denver in my early childhood years. My father is in the music industry so we traveled A LOT.

I was exposed to so many different cultures in which exposed my pallet to various cuisine. I moved to LA about six years ago. My style of cooking definitely changed due to my environment. Being exposed to so many different cultures has really expanded my creativity. My father Sire runs some of the most well-known venues in LA including Los Globos in Silverlake. My father introduced me to the Hollywood scene and really encouraged me to develop a brand around my self taught culinary skills. “Out of Many One People” is the Jamaican Coat of Arms, so as I developed Kyngston Kytchen, I wanted to ensure that I was taking my love of cuisines from various cultures and create a Cross Cultured brand. I would make things such as Jerk Chicken Gyros, Jerk Elote Wings, & Crab Cake Rasta Pasta. I began by doing Holiday pop ups in my hometown in Aurora, CO than slowly started doing more event-based pop ups throughout the LA area. My dad then pushed me to start the first Jerk Festival in Los Angeles in 2017 at Catch One. The first year I had maybe 300 people, the second year we sold 1500 tickets.

I literally had never thrown an event in my life prior to doing Jerk Fest, but it led to so many more opportunities. I began utilizing my resources to curate events and develop brands such as “Jerk and Waffles”, “Rewind Day Party”, “Dip”, and “The Annual Jamaican Independence Day Celebration” at various venues throughout the LA area including Resident, Los Globos, Catch One, The Freehand Hotel and Rudolphs. My goal was to bring the art of Jamaican culture, food, and music to those that have not been able to visit Jamaica to get the full experience. Throughout these events, I have established the most amazing relationships and so many doors have opened for me. I’ve slowly transitioned into more private chef and catering services for some amazing influencers,  athletes, actors, and a variety of artists in the music industry, including Eddie Huang, Wyclef, Orlando Franklin of the Denver Broncos, Miguel, and many more. In June of 2020, I launched my own Authentic Jamaican Seasoning line called “Dress It Up” available now at KyngstonKytchen.com.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I definitely don’t think it has been a smooth road. My background is in Criminal Justice and I had never in my life thought about being a chef. Cooking was always something that was just a hobby. When I begin doing it in LA, it was very intimidating. LA is such a big city known for its food diversity. I felt like there was so much pressure on me to be successful because of the staple my father is in the entertainment community’s hat he had surrounded me with. I never went to culinary school and I’ve never had a desire to, I really had to figure out how I was going to make my brand unique and really had to study how to ensure how to make it the best quality and figure out how I could make my brand stand out.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m Jamaican so I have 100 million jobs, lol. My first job is being a mother to my two beautiful daughters Javayah-Monae (12) and Kyngston-Monroe (7) I work full time alongside LA County Probation with a nonprofit that assists formerly incarcerated adults find housing. We provide case management, employment and housing services. I’ve worked in this field for over 11 years. I started out in parole and transitioned into substance abuse counseling and now my current position. Everyday I wake up, I thank God for blessing me with health, food and a roof over my head.

However, I acknowledge the fact that there are so many people throughout the LA area that are not as fortunate as I am. I strive to show my clients that they are as deserving as I. I stress to my clients that there is always an opportunity awaiting them, they just have to dig into their hearts to discover what drives them. U If 2020 has taught me anything, it is that as quickly that something is given to you is just as quick as it can be taken away. I treat my Client’s no different than I would treat my friends or loved ones. I try to speak life into them. Sometimes I am the first person to have ever believed in them so I try to keep it very poor with them and a system to build their confidence to believe in themselves. My goal is to one day be able to connect my passion for cooking and my passion for the justice system and be able to provide culinary jobs to those coming out of incarceration.

We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
Spanish was my first language. My nanny was from Guatemala. I actually learned Spanish before I learned English. I would speak to my parents and they would have no idea what I was talking about. It has definitely been of assistance with my navigation throughout LA.

Contact Info:

• Email: Kyngstonkytchen@gmail.com
• Website: Kyngstonkytchen.com
• Instagram: @Kyngstonkytchen
• Facebook: Kyngston Kytchen L.A.
• Twitter: @kyngstonkytchen
• Other: TikTok @kyngstonkytchen

Image Credits
@Curatedbycharlie @joshdpraw