INSPIRING A NEW GENERATION OF CULINARY ROOTED IN SOUL

Chef Deborah VanTrece is one of the South's most recognized culinary personalities, best-selling author, and founder of the VanTrece Hospitality Group.

Based in Atlanta, The VanTrece Hospitality Group includes the award-winning modern, global soul food restaurant, Twisted Soul Cookhouse & Pours, as well as the soon-to-open Serenidad, a modern take on Latin soul food, and Oreatha's, a tribute to mothers and comfort food around the world. The latter two restaurants are leading the revitalization efforts of Atlanta's historic Cascade Heights neighborhood. In addition to the restaurants, The Catering Company by VanTrece is one of Atlanta's busiest chef-led purveyors for private events.

The intersection of food and culture is at the heart of VanTrece's cuisine, which transforms traditional Southern cuisine with the many global influences that she discovered through her travels as an international flight attendant. She has coined the phrase "modern, global soul food" to describe her unique approach.

Media accolades for Chef VanTrece include NBC's TODAY Show, Good Morning America, The Rachael Ray Show, The New York Times, Bon Appetit, Food & Wine, NPR, Garden & Gun, Conde Nast Traveler, Heritage Radio Network, and The Local Palate, among others. She is also a winner of Food Network's Guy's Grocery Games.

Chef VanTrece has become a leading voice for Americans re-examining our own food culture. Her goal is to respect her own family's food traditions while also recognizing the enormous influence that the African Diaspora and black food heritage have had on contemporary American cuisine. She is also a tireless advocate for local farm families, who she regularly promotes through her menus and special community events, and a leading voice for the humane treatment of farm animals, sustainable agriculture, and food waste reduction.

As a female African American restauranteur, business owner, and a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community, Chef VanTrece is a passionate and vocal advocate for social justice, especially issues that impact marginalized and vulnerable populations. She is highly sought after as a mentor, particularly by young chefs of color. Her commitment to community was recently recognized by The Coca-Cola Company, which awarded Deborah and her team a $10,000 gift for the selfless way they have responded to COVID-19 live on Good Morning America.

Chef VanTrece is working on a cookbook as a follow-up to her 2021 cookbook, The Twisted Soul Cookbook: Modern Soul Food with Global Flavors (Rizzoli), which is already in its second edition.

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