
Hello
My name is Kebra Bohanon, and along with my husband, I am proud to own and operate Aspired Vegan Cafe, our very first restaurant here in our hometown. While I haven’t attended culinary school yet, it’s something I plan to pursue in the near future.
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The truth is, you don’t need to go to culinary school to start a restaurant, café, or any business. What’s essential is doing your research, staying dedicated, and putting in the hard work.
If you're passionate, there’s no better time to start than now!
My Story
​​My culinary schooling started at home at about age 7.
I’m the oldest of four, having grown up with twin brothers and a sister in our household. Early on, my mom taught me how to care for my siblings and cook meals for our family.
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The first dish I remember her teaching me was pancakes—probably why I make them so well after 32 years of practice! As I became more interested in cooking and making food taste good, I found myself in the kitchen more and more because I loved it.
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My mother would create incredible dishes using vegetables, rice, fish, and plain yogurt. I’m not sure what inspired those meals, but they were always delicious. At the time, they were my absolute favorite.
My mother has always been incredibly creative with flavors and different foods, and I’ve always loved that about her. Even now, she continues to inspire me.
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She played a huge role in shaping the extensive palate I have today. She had this amazing ability to create delicious meals from scratch, leaving you wondering how she came up with such incredible combinations. She could truly make something out of nothing—no exaggeration.
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My grandmother also had a strong influence on me, though she didn’t cook as often. She worked a lot, but she always found time during Thanksgiving and Christmas to make the most amazing mac & cheese, mashed potatoes, gravy, chicken, dressing, turkey, greens, yams—pretty much all the traditional American holiday foods. But her sweet potato pies were my favorite. If you can’t tell by now, I absolutely love baking!
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Whenever my grandmother cooked, holiday or not, I would be right there in the kitchen helping her. No one else would join, and I couldn’t stand watching her work so hard to feed everyone by herself, so I stayed to help—and I loved every minute of it.
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As a kid, I never understood why my grandmother was always alone in the kitchen during the holidays, working so hard. I just couldn’t leave her side. I miss her so much. Grandma’s pies were legendary—so good that people from her church, along with friends and family, would ask to buy them around the holidays. Patti LaBelle’s pies have nothing on my grandma’s!
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Over time, I changed the way I prepare, process, and cook food after seeing how my grandmother’s health began to decline at an early age. On March 11, 2017, we lost her, and my whole family was shaken. It was just a year earlier, in 2016, when I started my journey toward healthier eating. Even though I was often busy during that time, I’d bring food to my grandmother whenever I could. I loved her so much and wanted her to know that eating healthier could be both delicious and nourishing.
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I remember one visit when I made a vegetable soup from scratch and a chocolate cake. I was so proud of it! It was too good not to share with her. I couldn’t wait for her to taste it, and when she did, she loved it—and I was over the moon. I almost wanted to pack her up and take her with me. I wish I could have.
That day, we shared a meal and talked for a while. I knew her health was fading fast, and in our last conversation, I could tell she was at peace with her time coming to an end. She remains my biggest inspiration and the reason I truly immersed myself in plant-based cooking. Seeing the benefits of a diet rich in plants, I followed my heart and my spirit into this journey.
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A small goal of mine has always been to make my grandmother proud. I know she’s smiling every time I think of her. I can feel it.
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For my grandmother, Roena—I love you forever and live in your light gracefully.
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Kebra, Plant Based Chef