Guidance Moon
I was born and raised in the deep south of Louisiana; watching my mother and grandmother create art and healing in the kitchen. My mother could cure heartbreak with a helping of her spaghetti; And her fried chicken could put a smile on even the most depressed face. Speaking of depression, my mom had it BAD. She lived with severe bipolar depression, until it crippled her. It got so bad, that I had to become the primary caretaker and cook for the household. By the time I was 10, my mother was completely bed-bound and unable to function. She was completely uninterested in cooking or even maintaining her own personal hygiene. Her depression had won.
So I cooked for her. I learned and perfected her recipes, while I helped her bathe, clothe, and feed herself. And from there my love of culinary arts began. I began cooking for my family, and then they encouraged me to compete in local 4-H culinary competitions. To my surprise I often winning 1st place, with my mother by side when she could handle it.
I continued cooking and competing well into high school. I longed for a way to create art that healed others and made them feel better. At that time my family and I were all members of the Jehovah's Witness faith, and they didn't support going to college or pursuing secular education outside of the church.
So I left the church and my entire family behind and sought to do it on my own. There were no culinary schools near me, And even if there were, there was no way my impoverished family could afford to send me there. So My passion for food would have to remain a hobby. So I decided that nursing school was the best way for me to help and heal others.
I put myself in nursing school, and continued to cook online; Creating cooking videos on Facebook when the platform first became popular. My videos got tens of thousands of views, which further fueled my creative culinary passion. I worked for telecommunications companies for over a decade. Fixing cell phones and internet connections by day; and cooking and learning all I could at night. Eventually I had to drop out of nursing school due to lack of support. But I kept cooking!
My mom still struggled with her depression well into my adulthood. But one day she decided to have weight loss surgery. She was tired of letting obesity and Mental Illness control her life. The whole family was proud of her when she had the surgery. Miraculously she lost 40 pounds in 40 days! The light returned to her eyes and for the first time in years she was smiling and cooking again.
Sadly though, the same surgery that made her smile, took her life. My mother died suddenly in her kitchen one morning as she went to cook her sister breakfast. A blood clot had traveled to her lungs and just like that she was gone. My world was shattered. My faith lost, my desire for cooking haunted me as pain and loss took precedence.
I buried myself in my work in I.T and cooking at home. Eventually I was diagnosed with the same blood condition that killed my mother 5 years ago, and my father 2 years ago. Along with temporal lobe epilepsy and Microcytic Anemia. I struggled with obesity chronic illness for 15 years; weighing almost 400 lbs by they age of 30. And then Covid came, ending my career in Retail Management and Technical Support. All the stores closed and people were afraid to be near each other. With my career over, faith lost, health failing, and options few; I saw myself going down the same road to depression and obesity that my mother was on before she passed. At that moment I decided to make a change.
I left my small hometown in Louisiana and moved to the capital of Arkansas, and decided to enroll in culinary school at Pulaski Tech Culinary Arts Institute in Little Rock. I decided to have the same weight loss surgery as my mother; Despite the odds of developing life-threatening complications. I changed my diet and exercise habits, and devoted my life to discovering and learning about, vegan nutrition, cannabis, psychedelics, and other natural & plant culinary wonders. Once the weight fell off, I started diving deeper into my own sexuality and sensuality. I learned and practiced burlesque dancing, tantra, and Reiki. I became a public speaker, advocate and performer for the LGBT community. Acted in several movies, and a LGBT music video. Things I was always forbidden to do as a Jehovah's Witness. With the help of cannabis and plant nutrition I was able to travel the world with my wife and our two sons, as we hike, swim, and film our nation's State and national parks. I created a lot of culinary and cannabis content, which I shared with my followers online. Reaching close to 3 million cumulative views. My culinary instructors inspired me to apply for an internship with the Ritz-Carlton in Santa Barbara California for the summer 2022. Though I knew there was no way, a disabled black girl from the pits of nowhere would get into the Ritz-Carlton I applied for anyway. And to my surprise, I got accepted! They actually wanted me! So I sold everything I owned, and had to leave my wife and our 2 kids back in Arkansas. I drove 4 days by myself to get to Santa Barbara California for the internship. I worked the entire summer of 2022, learning among some of the top chefs in the industry; and sending as much money back home to my family in Arkansas as possible. I lived in my car for the majority of 2022. After completing my internship with the Ritz-Carlton, I decided to permanently relocate myself and my family here and launch my business Kief Culinary, continue my culinary education, and expand my media career. I've had the privilege of working on several media projects. I've been on the local news several times, acted in 2 movies, a high profile music video,, and I continue to produce my own content. I I'm a paid content creator for several marketing agencies. I've been doing work in the Los Angeles area, hosting dinner parties and catering events in West Hollywood Santa Barbara, and creating content all over SoCal in the Bay area. My goal is to be a Chef/Entertainer hosting private dinners and parties, and hopefully one day host my own Culinary TV show. I just want to make others smile and feel better when they eat my food. I want to show others what plants and natural nutrition can do for them, Just like food changed my life for the better.
With Elevated Intention Chef, Guidance River Moon
I left my small hometown in Louisiana and moved to the capital of Arkansas, and decided to enroll in culinary school at Pulaski Tech Culinary Arts Institute in Little Rock. I decided to have the same weight loss surgery as my mother; Despite the odds of developing life-threatening complications. I changed my diet and exercise habits, and devoted my life to discovering and learning about, vegan nutrition, cannabis, psychedelics, and other natural & plant culinary wonders. Once the weight fell off, I started diving deeper into my own sexuality and sensuality. I learned and practiced burlesque dancing, tantra, and Reiki. I became a public speaker, advocate and performer for the LGBT community. Acted in several movies, and a LGBT music video. Things I was always forbidden to do as a Jehovah's Witness. With the help of cannabis and plant nutrition I was able to travel the world with my wife and our two sons, as we hike, swim, and film our nation's State and national parks. I created a lot of culinary and cannabis content, which I shared with my followers online. Reaching close to 3 million cumulative views. My culinary instructors inspired me to apply for an internship with the Ritz-Carlton in Santa Barbara California for the summer 2022. Though I knew there was no way, a disabled black girl from the pits of nowhere would get into the Ritz-Carlton I applied for anyway. And to my surprise, I got accepted! They actually wanted me! So I sold everything I owned, and had to leave my wife and our 2 kids back in Arkansas. I drove 4 days by myself to get to Santa Barbara California for the internship. I worked the entire summer of 2022, learning among some of the top chefs in the industry; and sending as much money back home to my family in Arkansas as possible. I lived in my car for the majority of 2022. After completing my internship with the Ritz-Carlton, I decided to permanently relocate myself and my family here and launch my business Kief Culinary, continue my culinary education, and expand my media career. I've had the privilege of working on several media projects. I've been on the local news several times, acted in 2 movies, a high profile music video,, and I continue to produce my own content. I I'm a paid content creator for several marketing agencies. I've been doing work in the Los Angeles area, hosting dinner parties and catering events in West Hollywood Santa Barbara, and creating content all over SoCal in the Bay area. My goal is to be a Chef/Entertainer hosting private dinners and parties, and hopefully one day host my own Culinary TV show. I just want to make others smile and feel better when they eat my food. I want to show others what plants and natural nutrition can do for them, Just like food changed my life for the better.
With Elevated Intention Chef, Guidance River Moon