Today we’d like to introduce you to Chef Lovely.
Hi Chef, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I was incredibly shy growing up. In efforts to help me come out of my shell, at the age of 5 years old my Mama enrolled me in Studio One Dance Conservatory in Chicago for ballet and tap classes. In addition to learning dance I also gained confidence, discipline, stage presence, responsibility, teamwork – My musicality grew, a sisterhood was formed and the beginning of my teaching career was fostered. I remained at SODC until I was 18 years old also taking jazz, hip hop, modern, and praise dance. At the age of 13 I was chosen by SODC’s Owner and Director, Pamela Avery to become a teacher’s assistant. At the age of 16 I was teaching my own classes. At 21 years old I became the Assistant Executive Director and Tap Instructor of Dance Expressions. Owned by my mentor and one of my best friends, Gordette Brent. This experience set the ball in motion for my entertainment/culinary career.
My earliest memories of food is my Mother preparing breakfast, packing lunch and serving dinner to my family. With a very modest budget, creativity and a desire to nourish her family, my Mother created soothe-your-soul meals. Her pastry game is also unmatched. She would make cookies, danishes, pies, etc from scratch. Our relatives would always call to see what she was making and put in their requests. The whole neighborhood would stop by when they smelled the aromas of butter, sugar and vanilla in the air. Every holiday was a fest. My Auntie Delores would always make rib tips in bbq sauce. My Granny loved to make chicken with dressing. My Great Aunt Vera’s lemon meringue pie was a celebration of winter citrus with a mound of meringue clouds. My Mama’s collard greens with cornbread soaked in potlicker. My Grandmother’s perfectly fried chicken that she bathed in buttermilk and hot sauce. Our family friend Abdul’s okra stew with fufu (Just to name a few) For me, food means spending time with friends and family. Creating and sharing unforgettable moments while nourishing our hearts and minds.
After high school, I spent the summer in Alaska with my brother who worked at the pop radio station in Anchorage. Right after that, I started my culinary education at the Illinois Institute of Art in downtown Chicago. Here I received my associates, bachelors and professional baking and pastry degrees in 5 years. During this time I interned and worked at hotels and restaurants and began teaching culinary classes in underserved communities throughout Chicago.
When I was 23 years old I filmed my first tv show, Hell’s Kitchen (S6) I had no idea what I was getting myself into LOL. I remember having to take cold showers because the hot water was in and out, getting no sleep and constantly being thrown curve balls. Here’s one of my favorite memories from the show. The girls team won a challenge and were taken to a lunch via helicopter. To our surprise, Gordon joined us. He jumped into the helicopter I was in with 2 other cast members. So it was pretty tight. A few minutes into the flight Chef asked us how we were doing with the living arrangements to which one of the girls says “our food could be better or we could be boujee like Lovely and ask for San Pelligrino and sushi”. I responded, ” They asked what I wanted and I answered. I like what I like. Don’t be a hater.” Gordon quietly chuckled and the remaining flight was awkward. Now we’re all sitting down to lunch and everyone is served water except me. Then all of a sudden a server in a black suit wearing white gloves walks over to me with an ice cold bottle of San Pelligrino on a silver tray with one white rose. As the server begins to fill my glass Gordon leans in and says to me, “You have precious nickers don’t you.” To which I replied, “Yes, I do.” We both had a good laugh.
In 2011 I moved to California with my brother Dion. We took my car, packed up our essentials and drove from Chicago to Cali in 2 days. I know that sounds crazy because it was. I highly recommend stopping to enjoy the views and getting proper sleep. We ended up at a Starbucks in San Clemente. I remember sitting on the beach listening to ocean waves while being kissed by the warm sunlight saying, “OMG, am I in Cali right now. Did I make the right choice?” We checked into a hotel and later that day I got a Facebook message from a fellow Chef that I worked with in Chicago for a Sears campaign. He asked if I could go with him to Malibu to film an episode of My Fair Wedding with David Tutera. At that moment, all of my doubts faded away. About a week later I was hired at Bloomingdale’s in San Diego as the Culinary Specialist. I also started teaching cooking classes for Common Threads in Los Angeles and provided Private Chef services to a professional NFL player, Marcus Gilchrist. I was a booked, busy and blessed girl my first year in California.
I soon found myself gaining more celebrity clientele, filming more television, throwing pop up restaurants, etc… Fast forward to 2020, my tv show, Lovely Bites was the first ever original cooking program to be aired on the Oprah Winfrey network. This was a dream come true. Years and years of hearing no, not yet, we’re going to pass… these were my recipes & my ideas. My voice was being heard, and with the help of an incredible production team, we created tv history. There had never been a line up of all black female chefs on a tv network. I am forever grateful.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I’ve experienced racism, sexism and ageism in both the culinary and entertainment industries. Unfortunately, when these events occurred I wasn’t shocked or surprised. Growing up my parents prepared us for such experiences. Even though I was prepared, the pain and mental toll was very real and unforgettable. My defense, my armour is knowledge, integrity, joy, passion and purpose. I want my work to speak for its self. I want to set a tone of excellence and exceeding expectations for all those watching me. I want to kick the door down and create new opportunities for all of the young women of color coming after me.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m the owner and Executive Chef of Lovely Eats. We curate bespoke dining experiences for special occasions, celebrations, corporate events and daily meal prepping for those on the go or in need of reaching certain health goals. We offer private chefs, catering, and cooking class services. I also have the pleasure of cooking for some of your favorite stars. Some of my celebrity clientele include professional athletes from the NBA and NFL and grammy nominated music artists.
For 9 years I served as Senior Chef Manager, Associate Board Member, and Ambassador for the non profit organization Common Threads. During this time, I taught over five thousand children, teens and adults. Expanding my work with children and families, I created a culinary education platform named, The Young Gourmet. Here, I worked in underserved communities teaching cooking skills and techniques with vegan forward, budget friendly meals. As a voice of health and wellness through food, I was selected to be an Ambassador for First Lady Michelle Obama’s national Let’s Move initiative. With this honor, I visited schools in Chicago to execute hands on cooking classes with students and assist faculty & program leaders in implementing nutrition curriculum into daily lesson plans for their students and participants.
I held the position of Culinary Specialist at Bloomingdale’s for five years. My role included creating and executing live cooking demonstrations and in-store events to highlight merchandise and sales promotions in the housewares department. After the success of my live cooking demonstrations I began partnering with managers from the fine china, women’s
shoes, fine jewelry, handbags, bedding, and the bridal departments to create demonstrations and events tailored to each departments needs. I also mentored and assisted other Bloomingdale’s locations throughout the country on how to maximize my culinary program to increase sales and clientele loyalty. I created a culinary tour that visited Bloomingdale’s locations on the west coast, powered by the Meyer Corporation, where fellow celebrity chefs and I executed live cooking demonstrations. I also created dishes that were sold at the in-house restaurant, 59th & Lex.
Within my 18 years as a professional chef, I’ve partnered with numerous companies and organizations providing services such as catering, product promotion, and more for in-store and on-location events. Some of these companies and organizations include Disney, The Kamala Harris campaign, Kenmore, The Late Late Show, Ford, Nespresso, Jet Blue, Le Creuset, Almave, Nickelodeon, Jones Road, United Health Care, Christolfe, Jenn-Air, Pepsi, The American Egg Board and many more.
I’ve held principal roles on Food Network’s Food Network Star, FOX TV’s Hell’s Kitchen, and NBC’s Food Fighters. I’ve also made appearances on ABC’s The Chew, The Today Show, Hallmark Channel’s Home & Family, E!’s Daily Pop, TBS’s Friday Night Vibes and more. In 2020 my stand and stir tv show, Lovely Bites aired on the Oprah Winfrey network then streaming on Hulu, Discovery+, Prime Video, Apple TV and OprahWinfrey.com
Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
One of my favorite childhood memories was when my family packed up our brand new ice blue Hyundai and drove from Chicago to Florida to experience Disney World. My Dad got a big check from his job that included PTO and he wanted to break in our new car so my Mama suggested Disney World. We listened to Michael Jackson’s Thriller cassette tape all the way there and all the way back.
I slept and sang a lot. My brother Dana was always hot and my Mama and I were always cold. My Dad was able to get us there in record time using his navigational skills that he learned from being in the national guard as a First Sargent. He also had some help from my oldest brother Dion who held the map.
Of course my Mama packed some delicious sandwiches and snacks. Her trick to keeping the sandwiches from getting soggy as they defrosted was spreading a light layer of butter on the bread. It added good flavor too.
Our first night at the hotel we had the entire pool to ourselves. The next 5 days were incredibly hot so we did a lot of indoor activities. We had so much fun and of course my brothers and I didn’t want to leave.
Pricing:
- For inquires please contact Team Lovely at [email protected] or fill out contact form on cheflovely.com
Contact Info:
- Website: cheflovely.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/cheflovely
- Facebook: facebook.com/celebritycheflovely
- Other: tiktok.com/@cheflovely
Image Credits
BLACK AND WHITE – KIBWE TAVARES CHIX AND WAFFLES, CAESAR, FEATURE – BENEDICTE CASTILLO REMAINING – ME
