To celebrate Black History Month, we're highlighting 10 Black chefs disrupting the health culinary circuit. Each of these accomplished culinary artists use their platforms to teach people how to cook (and eat!) healthy meals. They each take a different approach to cooking, so you're sure to find a culinary genius that meets your dietary needs on this list!
10 Black Chefs Focused on Health Food to Follow
Andrea Mathis
Andrea Mathis
After trying to lose weight and gaining it all back after crash diets, Andrea Mathis decided to learn about healthy eating. She earned her Registered Dietician license and set out to lose weight in a realistic way. Instead of focusing on calorie counts and avoiding comfort foods, she found ways to eat healthy without giving up the foods she loves. Follow her @healthiersteps to keep up with her delicious and health-conscious meals!
Michelle Braxton
Self-proclaimed "soup queen" and plant-forward pescatarian Michelle Braxton makes eating healthy look great! Her blog, Supper with Michelle, features vegan, vegetarian, and pescatarian meals that are sure to titillate your taste buds. She also has an upcoming cookbook set to be published in 2023. View her delicious recipes @supperwithmichelle!
Kevin Curry
Ever wonder what physically fit men include in their diets? Kevin Curry is on a mission to show you! He started a tumblr blog in 2012 that evolved into the Fit Men Cook brand, book, and app. He shares healthy recipes that help you transform your body and fuel your workouts. You can follow him @fitmencook to defy gender norms and get you or the man in your life cooking!
Alex Hill
Alex Hill
Home cooked meals are almost always healthier than restaurants. If you struggle to whip anything together in the kitchen, it can be difficult to maintain a healthy diet. Alex Hill's got a solution for that: Just Add Hot Sauce! This blog makes cooking easy and accessible for even the most novice cooks. Follow her step-by-step videos to learn how to make pasta, Philly cheesesteaks and more! Find her on social media @justaddhotsauce_.
Ashlea Carver
Ashlea Carver
Losing weight is hard, and many people find that following Whole 30 brings them results. Ashlea Carver has a whole section of her website dedicated to sharing Whole 30 recipes you'll love. All of Carver's recipes are gluten-free and easy to follow. She features 30-minute meals and healthy recipes for your favorite desserts to help you reach your weight loss goals. Connect with her @allthehealthythings to see her latest recipes!
Bryant Terry
Award winning chef Bryant Terry is an activist whose determination to improve food accessibility is unmatched. In addition to writing several books, he is also the recipient of both a James Beard Award and a NAACP Image Award for his work in this space. He's been the Chef-in-Residence at the San Franciscan Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) since 2015. To learn more about his vegan recipes and food equity efforts, follow him @bryantterry!
Michelle Blackwood
Making healthy desserts, soul food, and Afro-Caribbean cuisine has never been easier! After experiencing some health challenges, Michelle Blackwood launched Healthier Steps to create healthy versions of her favorite foods without adding refined sugars. She also cut gluten out of the majority of her recipes in an effort to make meals that make her and her loved ones look and feel good. Blackwood's experience as a nurse gives her additional insight that makes her recipes all the healthier. Follow her @healthiersteps to see what she's cooking and learn about how the food you eat impacts your body!
Tabitha Brown
(Photo by Phillip Faraone/FilmMagic)
If you don't know who Tabitha Brown is by now, you better find out! She's a social media sensation who sprung into the spotlight after she started sharing her vegan recipes and life advice on social media. Brown's infectious personality endeared her to millions of fans across the globe and her newfound fame jump started her acting career, landing her a recurring role on The Chi. In 2021, she partnered with Nemanja Nekac Golubovic to open a Los Angeles location of vegan restaurant Kale My Name. To keep up with Brown's vegan recipes and budding acting career, you can follow her @iamtabithabrown!
Eric Adjepong
Do you need live help in the kitchen? Eric Adjepong, MPH is a personal chef who makes it simple and easy to take healthy cooking classes from the comfort of your home. His virtual classes help you learn the basics of healthy cooking and eating in both on demand and live formats. Adjepong competed on the 16th season of Too Chef and the 17th season of Top Chef All-Stars, has experience cooking in Michelin-starred restaurants, and earned degrees in culinary arts and public health nutrition from prestigious universities—so you know he's the real deal! Follow him @chefericadjepong to see his cooking and highlights from appearances on Food Network.
Kelis
(Photo by Rich Fury/Getty Images)
Remember when Kelis' milkshake was bringing all the boys to the yard? Now, the singer-songwriter is making farm-to-table milkshakes in her kitchen! Following a successful music career, Kelis studied culinary arts at Le Cordon Bleu. Since then, she's hosted pop-up restaurants in London and LA, published a cookbook called My Life on a Plate, and developed online cooking classes via SkillShare. To keep up with her recipes, classes, and restaurant ventures, follow her @kelis!
There are so many other notable Black chefs and food influencers in the health food space you can learn from. Dedicate some time to learning about them during Black History Month and beyond—you won't regret it!
READ MORE: 12 Black Food Bloggers Celebrate Black History Month With Creative Cooking
