Connection and Community in the Virtual Kitchen with Kirbee

My heart is in the kitchen. I started cooking and baking at a very young age. I have always loved the creative process of making delicious food. Growing up in Michigan in a cooking family and surrounded by neighbors with various cooking styles, I had a diverse training ground. Whether it was assisting my mother as she made her famous peach cobbler or watching my neighbor as she roasted peppers for her delicious stuffed peppers known around the neighborhood or taking in every detail as my aunt made her legendary seafood gumbo, each session in the kitchen was invigorating! I recall sitting for hours looking through cookbooks with fascination! I would select a variety from my mother’s backer’s rack, find a quiet place often behind the couch with a blanket, and just get lost in my own culinary world of imagination and possibilities.

I introduced KiNiMi Kitchen in 2017. People need people. However, we often rush past or dismiss people if we don’t “see” them. Food is a powerful equalizer that can start beautiful conversation and connection. KiNiMi Kitchen’s mission is to cultivate immersive culinary experiences that promote inclusion and connection. I launched this multidimensional brand to share my love for food and people via an online cooking show, cooking classes, as well TV appearances in the Nashville and Chattanooga markets, Pop-Up shops at locations such as Williams Sonoma and Pottery Barn. Most recently, I launched an artisan popcorn line, “KiNiMi Pop.”

What ingredients inspire you and why?

What is your favorite part of hosting a private virtual cooking class?