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Today we are honored to share the story of a near and dear friend of the brand, Chef Shenarri Freeman, also known as Shenarri Greens on IG. Saying that we walked away inspired after this conversation would be an understatement. Black women, and especially underrepresented black women in the culinary world, continue to raise the bar, transcend adversity, and somehow level-up even in the most trying times.
Shenarri is currently the Executive Chef + Manager of Cadence, a vegan Southern Soul Food inspired concept opening soon in East Village, New York. She shared that this experience has been nothing short of an interesting journey, as she started out working in various positions in the food/beverage industry heavily invested in the DC scene.
However, last year, she packed her bags and moved to New York to peruse a life long dream and attend Culinary School at the Institute of Culinary Education (#1 Culinary School in the US!). Over the course of this past year she spent a great deal of time networking, volunteering at the James Beard House, doing private supper clubs and eventually hosting her own supper club dinner, expanding her comfortability experimenting in multiple roles in the culinary space.
As we know, this industry took a huge hit due to the restrictions around dining imposed during the pandemic. What we know is although this time was hard on a diverse group of people, the shortest end of the stick was in fact dealt to women of color. During the height of COVID-19, Chef Shenarri spent a lot of time at home, finding ways to use the time as an opportunity to rebrand as a chef and build an invested audience on Social Media. Although an extremely trying time for Chef Shenarri, she admits that a lot of great and creative ideas were birthed during this time.
Create your own lane, make people come to you. Be authentic, be original, and most importantly, be your self. Everything else will naturally fall in to place. The universe is always on your side. - @shenarrigreens
We've heard it time and time again, "delayed is not denied" but this story is truly an embodiment of your passions making a way for you and things falling into place even during an uncertain season. Chef Shenarri's life took a shift when she applied to work for Overthrow Hospitality. she was initially hired as a manager for one of their concepts which eventually turned in to her being selected to open a new concept with the
restaurant group, Cadence. The pandemic and the shutdowns have unfortunately delayed their opening but they are aiming to host their Grand Opening some time in the new year!
Please give her a follow on IG:
https://www.instagram.com/shenarrigreens/
https://www.instagram.com/cadence.newyork/