Chef Kayla Nadja
At the age of 8 years old while making pancakes for her family, Kayla realized she had a love for cooking and serving delicious meals. While in middle school, Kayla started her part time business, “Kayla’s Kakes,” creating fresh from scratch desserts building a faithful clientele that looked forward to her seasonal openings. She was so committed to developing her culinary and baking skills that she participated in internships and programs that “Kayla’s Kakes” had to be put on pause. During this time, Kayla worked with high profile and renowned chefs such as Jose Ramon Andreas and was personally mentored by Marcus Samuelson.
Chef Kayla is currently attending Johnson and Wales University, her dream college, as a double major student where she is preparing to graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Culinary Nutrition and an Associate’s degree in Baking and Pastry. Her vision is to one day open a cafe on a farm while addressing food deserts commonly found in low income African-American communities. Kayla wants to partner with cities like NYC to reopen community gardens and bring education about food and nutrition to inspire healthier living. In her spare time, Kayla loves to “restaurant hop” and especially sleep.