By Grace Sarkisian | WeINSPIRE Journalist

“Food is our common ground, a universal experience.” - James Beard

TAMPA, Florida - Kenneth Minor, also known as Kenny, is a celebrity chef located in New York, New York. Although food is a constant in his life, Minor is also a cookbook author, an educator, a singer, a people-person, and a southern gentleman.

Try A Little Tenderness

Minor’s admiration for cooking started when he was just six years old, helping his grandmother break apart bread in the kitchen. Surrounded by family and good conversations, Minor began associating cooking with feelings of endearment and tenderness.

“The food that I touched and my hands touched created this moment. I really enjoy creating moments with food, that’s what really got me into it and I’ve been locked in ever since,” Minor said.

Before cooking transitioned from a hobby to a career, Minor was working in healthcare and health management. That was until 2007 when he began his education at The Arts Institute. At 31 years old, Minor started attending culinary classes to fuel the passions he had felt before when in the kitchen with his family.

Minor heavily focuses on the energy that food gives to the body, he believes that an individual’s relationship with food is a factor in living a happier and healthier life. Minor describes cooking as both a craft and an art that has the potential to change lives drastically. Minor wants to eliminate the stigma that there is a difference between cooking and cooking healthy, proving these concepts are the same.

“Out of all the arts, it is the only one that we put into our blood system, so I think we should give that a little more mindfulness about what we put into our bodies,” Minor said.

Minor recently released his very own cookbook “From My Plate to Yours: Lunch Fix” containing personalized, hand-picked recipes. Minor singles in on lunch as the central meal in his cookbook because the typical hours of lunch are when people pick up most of their empty calories. Minor took wide-known, lovable recipes, such as fried chicken and put his personal spin on it.

The Elements of Food

Minor also wants to work on educating those on the science behind food because what we eat and how we eat affects us more than we think.

“People really don’t understand the science behind it and there is a science behind eating,” Minor said.

Another layer of cooking that Minor is involved in is the mental aspect. He believes in a holistic approach to eating. The trials and tribulations that individuals go through on a daily basis, affect the relationship one has with food. Also, this ties into Minor wanting to help others break the cycle of labeling foods as good or bad. When Minor was younger, he was 85+ lbs overweight and at that point, it didn’t have as much to do with the food he was eating, but rather the struggles he was facing at the time.

“All of these things, this ecosystem around how we feel about ourselves directly impacts the food on our plate,” Minor said.

With all the effort that Minor puts into his cooking, it is important to him to have a personal mission statement for food. There are mission statements for companies and universities, so Minor believes that people should have statements dedicated to what we put into our bodies. When Minor first meets with a client, the first thing he does is help them craft a belief statement about food.

“I believe that when nutritious food is at the center of my thoughts and my actions, life is better,” Minor said.

Bringing Music Into The Kitchen

Throughout his career as a chef, Minor has been involved in numerous projects, all of which serve the purpose of helping improve the overall life quality of others like the From Scraps to Seen project. An interactive culinary event that explores the dynamic relationship between Black history, sound and flavor using food and music elements.

Minor has incorporated singing into his brand as a chef so much so that he is known as “the singing chef.” Minor gives credit to his mother for inspiring him to blend his love for music with his love for cooking. Minor uses music as an additional tool to connect with people, to him, food and music simply go together.

“Even if everybody doesn’t want to eat healthy, everybody can take in a song and the meaning of it and the feeling of it no matter what your race is, so it has this universal way to connect people instantly,” Minor said.

The Chef’s Journey Continues

Chef Kenny Minor will continue to use his platform to shed light on the importance of the fulfillment of food, and the emotional ties people have to food and what exactly that means. Minor does not limit himself to just being known as a chef, but wants to use his knowledge and skills to expand his brand to serve those that follow him. To keep up with Kenny and his endeavors you can visit his website and social media here!