2 Black Women Make History, Opens CHEF Culinary Academy In Atlanta

CHEF Academy hopes to build careers for diverse chefs and hospitality professionals.

Culinary and Hospitality Enthusiast of the Future Academy (CHEF) has officially opened in metro Atlanta. It makes history as the first culinary academy founded by Black women in the city.

Its owners, chef Simone Byron and business owner Adeola Skunbi held a grand opening on Sept. 5. The duo transformed what was once a summer program into a comprehensive training facility, sharing their story with the Atlanta Voice.

“We have people who are training and doing classes on certain skills. We’re doing pasta-making classes. We’re doing pairing classes. There are classes for young people interested in baking a pastry from 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 is really important for us.”

CHEF Academy is part of Byron’s nonprofit organization, Navigate Foundation. Founded in 2017, the program helps individuals from underrepresented communities find career pathways in hospitality and chef training. With 200 students successfully completing the program, the academy hopes to expand these efforts to an even bigger cohort. The space allows for a variety of passionate individuals to take part in its growing community.

Of course, CHEF will provide traditional culinary training for its students while including competitions and a teen camp to spark more fun into the learning environment. Its teachings also aim to address a gap in the industry, where only 12.5% of all chefs and head cooks identified as Black in 2022, per Data USA.

For the co-owners, developing this space also pays homage to the legacy of Black women and men in the kitchen. Both come from a lineage of esteemed cooks and hope to lead a new generation of diverse chefs in the area.

“For me, this is a family legacy,” expressed Byron. “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 I was 17, moved through several large organizations, and do this as an individual means a lot to me holistically.”

Sokunbi also recognized that for many, the passion for cooking comes from those who made meals for them.

She added, “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. I think the biggest thing within the hospitality space is that if you ask anyone you know who taught you how to cook, they often say it’s their mother, their grandmother. But often 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.”

While the “for us, by us” venture finds its lane, it hopes to make a fruitful mark in the culinary world.