This cooking AMA is part of the 13 Days of A+. From December 13 through December 25, we’re celebrating the people who literally keep our lights on, who believed we could make it through 2020, who invest and participate in this community through challenges and growth and change — that’s YOU. It’s truly magical to have so many guardian gayngels looking out for this space, and we’re so delighted to be able to do something a little special for our queer fam to close out the year. Some of what we publish for the 13 Days will be cozy and familiar, like Into the A+ Advice Box and Some Answers to Some Questions You’ve Been Asking Us. Some of it will be a twist on regulars; we have Malic White as a guest editor for two installments of the erotica series S L I C K for one… and the rest? We’re going to keep those pieces all boxed up in scissoring-patterned wrapping paper until they publish. We’re looking forward to spending some time with you. 💙
Today, you’re invited to rummage through your cabinets and through the brains of a number of Autostraddle team members, all of whom have surprising hidden cooking talents. A cornbread contest winner, a food photographer, the creator of The Dyke Kitchen — and even a professional chef — will be here to answer your questions.
Members of the team will be on in two shifts: 7am-10am PST and 2pm-5pm PST. Feel free to leave questions between these two shifts, share photos of your cooking and baking adventures and jump in to help fellow members rescue their holigay meals!
Meet the chef, cooks, and bakers who are here to answer your burning cooking questions today:
Both AM and PM Shifts:
Chef Kenya Bovey
Chef Kenya Bovey has spent the last 11 years making their mark in some of the most dynamic restaurants of Los Angeles and New York for renowned chefs including Nancy Silverton and Chad Colby (Spacca, Los Angeles), Sawako Okochi (Shalom Japan, Brooklyn) and Suzanne Goin (AOC, Tavern, Los Angeles). Growing up in a bi-racial household, with parents who also love food, in LA’s vibrant Mar Vista/Venice neighborhood laid a foundation of three keys to culinary success: attention to detail, an appreciation of precision and a comfort with exploration. Kenya attended Cal Poly SLO, but left after sophomore year and headed east to explore life in the professional kitchens of New York. They had long enjoyed cooking at home but were unprepared to find themselves addicted to the adrenaline rush and the grind of being on the line.Â
In addition to broad-kitchen method and technique, Kenya has developed passion and skill in live-fire cooking and whole-animal butchery as well as a deep appreciation for maximizing the impact of local, seasonal produce and the often un-discussed skill of farmers’ market shopping. For the last year, they’ve been working as Chef de Cuisine with Jeff Strauss at Jeff’s Table, a modern Jewish deli startup that finds inspiration in the globally diverse food scene of Los Angeles. They are also available for private chef engagements and intimate cooking classes. Follow them on Instagram @featherweight24.
Vanessa Friedman
I am a self-identified kitchen top AND a Capricorn, so I was born to boss you around your kitchen! Just kidding (kind of) – but I do love feeding people and helping people feed themselves, so I am thrilled to hang out together and talk food! My specialties include challah (I bake it weekly), baked goods in general, traditional (and untraditional) Jewish meals, and anything with a runny egg yolk. I’m more a follow-the-recipe-EXACTLY rather than a make-it-up-as-you-go kinda dyke, so I’m excited to share recipes, troubleshoot, and generally pretend we’re all hanging out in a huge queer kitchen together. Also if anyone randomly wants to talk about canning and preserving, I’m your girl!
Renea Goddard
I’m gonna be honest: my only specialty here is an affinity for flavorful, homestyle food and years of cooking with my Korean mother and my Midwestern American father—both passionate cooks in their own ways, and both helped me get to know my way around a kitchen. And, not to brag, but I *did* win a cornbread contest once (deep in the southern U.S, no less!) with my dad’s recipe. Most holidays we shared a mix of American country classics and Korean staples. They have a lot more in common than you might think! I’m excited to help imagine some fusion dishes or create a less traditional holiday meal with more diverse flavors. Or just talk about my favorite Asian food :P
AM Shift: 7am-10am PST
Carmen Phillips
Carmen’s a supremely skilled stress baker (and since she’s an anxious person, she’s had plenty of opportunity to flex those skills!). She’s happy to help with any small-to-mega baking project concern! From “how do I make Christmas cookies for my sweetie and not burn them” to “could I really conquer making a decadent layer cake for the holigays from scratch” (you sure can!). She’s also very talented at scaling down large meals and ingredient lists for single person meals or otherwise small gatherings and definitely knows her way around a recipe, even of the savory variety.Â
Rachel Kincaid
I’ve been vegetarian for almost all my life and vegan for some of it, and love love decadent, delicious food situations – full-fat, fried, carby, stuffed and topped with cheese, whatever. I love a good salad and also feel like that definitely doesn’t have to be all we eat, even with allergies or dietary restrictions!
I truly love cooking and ALSO am super busy and often work til 8 pm or later, so I have a lot of recipes and ideas for making delicious vegetarian food with good leftovers or that’s easy and chill. I’d love to help you figure out a luxurious multi-food-group brunch, holiday foods, new go-tos for approachable daily meals you’ll actually want to eat throughout the week, a life-changing new sauce, etc. I have an Instant Pot, air fryer and would love to help you find stuff to make with any of them.
Meg Jones Wall
I’m a food photographer and food stylist with an MLA in Gastronomy, silverware tattoos, and far too many cookbooks. I’m more of a cook than a baker but I’m comfortable in both areas, and am particularly skilled at arranging cheeseboards, creating beautiful tables, finding cheap but rad dishes and props, and generally styling food to look pretty. I’m also pretty good at wine pairings. Want help taking pics of your meal for Instagram? Need the perfect serving dish for your veggie side? Stuck on how to organize a full menu that won’t leave you in the kitchen all day? Let me help with aesthetics and logistics.
Valerie Anne
I have a lot of experience with kitchen tools (I have written product copy for a kitchen tool company) and know about a lot of shortcuts, tips and tricks etc since I’m bad at following recipes to a T and am always doing things like “what if I just put this in my manual food processor instead of dicing it” and have learned through trial and error when that is or is not in fact okay. I’m fairly new to cooking but am pretty good at improvising/faking it til I make it, especially when it comes to things like realizing halfway through the process that I’m missing an ingredient, or needing to make a vegetarian version of something.Â
Malic White
I’m a former vegan and current omnivore who regularly bakes gluten-free goodies. I am excellent with substitutions, so if you have specific dietary needs, I’m your dough boy.Â
PM Shift: 2pm-5pm PST
Kamala Puligandla
Are you standing around your kitchen or sitting on your couch asking yourself, what do I make?? My years as a stoner snacker have made me aware of flavor combos that unexpectedly work and I am well-known for giving leftovers a new makeover, if you know you SHOULD be eating what you already have. I’m very familiar with being lazy and not wanting to have to go the store to get the “ideal” ingredients, so I can help you out with subbing things. I can also talk through recipes and help you figure out which extra steps are probably worth your time and which ones you can ignore and just add butter instead.
Nicole Hall
Growing vegetables and herbs has been a process of continual learning for me that doesn’t end when those things come out of the ground! Did you know you can candy thyme to top desserts?? I’ve been through a decade of holigay seasons without eating meat. Want to chat punching up “sides” until they’re a worthy main or taking a jumble of things from your garden or freezer and assembling them into an actual meal? I also bake! I’m not much for your chocolate desserts, but if you want to make something spicy or gingery, herbal or tart, let’s talk. Maybe I’ll even share my rosemary lemon shortbread recipe!
Casey Stepaniuk
I am a former vegetarian who loves to cook with and without meat. Baking cookies and cakes is a favourite of mine too! I’ve especially been experimenting lately by using my Instant pot, which has not been nearly as scary as I thought it would. I like to try all sorts of cuisines and have been cooking from a Korean cookbook lately. Recently I made Korean spicy pork and an autumnal punch / cocktail with whiskey. My partner is Mexican, so I’m always experimenting with Mexican food as well (especially with ingredients you can get at a small town Canadian grocery store). Also, being a librarian, information finding is my specialty, so I would love to find people answers on food and cooking if I don’t know them myself!Â
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