This is a game-changer!
Simone Byron is a chef and the owner of Navigate Foundation, a nonprofit she founded in 2017 to help underserved youth who aspire to begin careers in the hospitality sector. Since its inception, the organization has graduated 200 students and helped cultivate the next generation of chefs. Now, Byron has teamed up with business owner Adeola Sokunbi, the two entrepreneurs launching the Culinary and Hospitality Enthusiast of the Future (C.H.E.F.) Academy, the first Black woman-owned culinary academy in Atlanta, Georgia, Atlanta Voice reports.
The new academy, which just launched in DeKalb County this week, is focused on serving as an extension of the foundation. The program operates as an incubator and education space, offering chef courses, mixology classes, and opportunities for aspiring creatives to use the space in general.
“We have people who are training and doing classes on certain skills. We’re doing pasta-making classes. We’re doing pairing classes. These 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. Working with the ACF [American Culinary Foundation] to provide a space for those certification programs to happen is really important for us,” Byron explained.
The academy boasts hands-on culinary training, offering skills ranging from knife techniques to plating and baking. For both Byron and Sokunbi, it’s bigger than just another workforce development program; it’s about culture and tradition and preserving the regional foodways present in Atlanta.
“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…so to be that example is important,” said Sokunbi.
“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 I was 17, moved through several large organizations, and do this as an individual means a lot to me holistically,” added Byron.
To learn more about the C.H.E.F. Academy visit www.thenavigateprogram.org.
Cover photo: Meet the Entrepreneurs Behind First Black Woman-Owned Culinary Academy in Atlanta/(l to r) Adeola Sokunbi & Chef Simone Byron/Photo credit: Kerri Phox/The Atlanta Voice