Every Thursday evening when I was growing up, my mother would take over from the housekeeper and make dinner. Yes, I had one of those privileged childhoods where I thought nobody’s mother ever cooked. Least of all, mine. She would dim the lights in the dining room and call us to the table. While I can’t remember what I had for breakfast this morning, I do recall one particularly ghastly Mother Meal many decades ago: Burnt apple sauce and a soft-boiled egg. No wonder she dimmed the lights.
When I had my own children, however, I learned that mothers are expected to make edible dinners. Imagine! I never did learn to be a master chef, alas. I so wish I had. But I have at least gotten more creative over the years from when I first got married. Indeed, one of the first things I cooked in our tiny apartment for my new husband was a steak. It was rather small, and I somehow managed to slam the oven door so hard that it must have fallen behind a pipe, never to be found again. To this day, I often wondered when that piece of meat was found. And was it after the next tenants thought by an odd smell that someone had died in their kitchen — and the body was still there. Somewhere!
All that said, and perhaps to make up for my lack of culinary skills, I love to interview great chefs in hopes that some of their talents might rub off on me. (ps. I’m still hoping.) Recently, one chef’s name came across my desk who I was anxious to write about. Her name is Chef Ahki, a plant-based advocate and activist, who began her career in Paris as Lenny Kravitz’s personal chef, and after her return to the U.S., working with such stars such as Salma Hayek, Bradley Cooper, Lee Daniels, and Wendy Williams.
Chef Ahki, now a celebrity in her own right, had a fascinating life. She was raised by four generations of medicine women in Oklahoma, where she was exposed to local foods and alternative medicine. She transitioned to a plant-based diet at the age of 18 and has devoted her career to creating culinary masterpieces that are both easy to prepare and healthy. Furthermore, she inspires her millions of devoted fans to take control of their own health via daily recipes, online classes, and books that serve as visually appealing instructional manuals.
Intrigued by herbal healing and eastern traditional medicine, Chef Ahki uses organic, non-hybrid fruits and vegetables to create delectable recipes that stimulate amazing health results and an overall lifestyle improvement. That said, I am delighted to pass along to you a few of her favorites:
