Well, for me, this is a memory I create for my family every night. But, it took many years to make this our reality. After being in the retail banking industry for 14 years, I returned to school to follow my passion of cooking to become a chef. It was no surprise that this career path found me. I come from a household that always ensured our bellies and hearts were full. My grandmother had an open-door policy - we didn’t even lock our front door, so that people would know they were always welcomed. I was the little girl sitting in the kitchen, watching everything my grandmother and parents cooked and always wanted to help.

 

When I was 12 years old, my dad started a catering company, and we ran it as a family. By the time I was nineteen, when he decided to focus on desserts, I was his right-hand. He has been my number one supporter in this journey. He pushes my creativity, and he reminds me how much I love to serve people through food. I can’t imagine what my life would be like without this industry or him. Whenever I find myself stressed, I just go to the kitchen and cook - everything makes sense after about 10 minutes. Honestly, pursuing my degree was a 20-year challenge. I started, I stopped, I worked, I became a mother, a wife, a community activist - but nothing fulfilled me until now.

 

I am Chef Ji’Nae Brown-Wilbon and my motto is: Crave Food, but Feed your Soul.