“It was confusing at first, I was like I have the drive. I have the energy…’why not me?’”

-Chef Kia Damon

Chef Kia Damon, also known as Kia Cooks, said it took her a while to figure out why people weren’t taking her seriously in the world of culinary arts at the very beginning of her career in Florida.

“No one saw me as anyone serious and it was really confusing for me at first because I had the drive and the energy to do it, so why not me? It took a little while to be like ‘oh okay’ it's because I’m a Black woman, and that’s weird for a lot of people,” she explained.