We recently connected with Ranonda Penn and have shared our conversation below.

Ranonda, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

Honestly, culinary school.

It has been the biggest and most life changing risk of my adult life to date. I had been working in IT for over 15 years and at the time was a Business Analyst for an energy software company. I had been thinking about going to culinary school in the evenings simply because I loved cooking so much. My intentions were to have the experience, not to change careers. I feared going into culinary as a career might hinder my love of cooking. Shortly after I registered for culinary school, all Business Analysts in America were laid off for the company.

That plot twist in my life made me think more about my future direction. Do I continue with IT or change careers completely? I chose the later and have no regrets. Culinary school elevated my culinary perspective and skills to the next level. I found myself constantly thinking of how I could translate my love of food into unforgettable experiences for my clients.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

Definitely. Everything I do in the kitchen is influenced by my childhood experiences I had in the kitchen with my mother and aunts. I spent the summer before my junior year of high school taking cooking classes from one of my aunts, Nanny, my mother’s older sister. She was more of a grandmother to me. All the children called her Nanny. I will forever deeply treasure those one-on-one moments with my mother and my aunts.

My cooking style has evolved into a fusion of my childhood Southern dishes artistically re-imagined as extraordinary, unforgettable dishes with influences from my African American roots and the African roots of Spain. The Moors rule of mainly southern Spain began in 711 AD. Their presence lasted over 800 years and is still present today. Their influence is seen throughout the region through the dishes and the foods they introduced to the country such as lemons, dates, saffron, peaches, oranges, sugarcane, apricots, figs, cotton, pomegranate, rice, and ginger.

Right now, I believe I have come full circle. Divalicious Dish now has two brands: The Savory Experience introduced in 2013 represents the fine dining experiences. The latest brand, Artisanal Perfection, which had a soft launch in January 2022, is a quarterly culinary subscription box service. There is a theme for each quarter. Subscribers receive a box with recipes and other items for an experience that speaks to all the senses. Each quarter I host a live virtual session for any subscriber to have an opportunity to cook the recipes with me. Of course, they are always free to make them on their own.

Through all my struggles I learned how to adjust in the moment when things didn’t go according to plan, connect with clients to truly understand their desires, and then translate those desires into a dinner experience uniquely tailored to them. I grew a lot in those years as a chef, business owner, and as a person.

This journey has been ever evolving for me. One of my accomplishments that I am so proud of is being 1 of 3 Recipients of 40 Entrepreneurs to receive the SURE/University of Houston 2014 Entrepreneur Academy Award Pitch Day. We were the inaugural class for the program which walked us through a 12-week program to develop a business plan. We had the opportunity to pitch our concepts to a panel of 12 investors.

My proudest moments though are when I witness pure joy in my clients as they are enjoying their experiences created uniquely for them.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

That is an excellent question. Providing all creatives spaces to work on their art no matter the platform is foundational to our successes. For independent culinary artists/chefs, that can be challenging for our creative endeavors. We need access to affordable licensed commercial kitchens to work from so we remain in compliance with the city and state. Sometimes this can be a challenge for some concepts we envision and determines how we approach our work. However, I believe that Houston has such a diverse and thriving culinary industry that this gap will be filled more and more over the next few years.

Is there a mission driving your creative journey?

My core goal has always been to remain true to who I am as a person and as a Culinary Artist & Chef. Everything else flows from that foundation. It keeps me focused on the creative view I have for my food and my future endeavors. I’ve learned throughout my culinary journey that people who 100% support me may not understand my vision. At first it was frustrating, then one day as I was meditating I was reminded that it is my vision, not anyone else’s vision. It then made sense to me why no matter how I explained my vision, the other person didn’t fully understand. Then once it is executed they are able to see my vision.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https;//instragram.com/chefraeofficial
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/chefraeofficial
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chefrae/
• Other: Culinary Subscription Service: https://artisanalperfection.cratejoy.com

Image Credits
Blue Treasure Photography