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Shenarri Freeman
James Beard Award winner
- Discipline
- Other
i. Biography
Shenarri Freeman leads the kitchen at Cadence in New York, where vegan soul food is treated as a point of view, not a workaround. The cooking is marked by training, control, and a clear read on comfort: familiar in feel, but built to hold on to plant-based terms without flattening the food’s weight or reach. Her time as Executive Chef at Ubuntu in Los Angeles adds another line to a career already defined by range and authority.
The Path
Training at Howard University and the Institute of Culinary Education gave Freeman a base in discipline and technique. As a Line Cook at a concert venue around campus, she worked in conditions that demanded speed and consistency; later, as Front-of-House Manager at a popular bar and restaurant in Washington, D.C, she learned how the floor and the pass shape one another. Those roles map a professional who built hospitality fluency before taking full command of the line. At Avant Garden in Manhattan, New York City, Freeman stepped into the chef role and continued to sharpen the voice that now defines her work. The move from campus-adjacent service to a Manhattan kitchen marks accumulation more than arrival: more pressure, more responsibility, more room for a distinct point of view to settle in. Today, Shenarri Freeman is Executive Chef of Ubuntu and Executive Chef of Cadence. The titles are plain enough; the work behind them is not. Her path has moved through kitchens where timing, leadership, and a defined point of view carry as much weight as technique.
The Work Today
At Cadence in New York, Freeman’s cooking is most clearly legible as vegan soul food. The style keeps comfort and memory intact while changing the terms of the plate. It does not ask tradition to step aside; it asks what happens when familiar dishes are rebuilt around different ingredients and a different set of decisions. Freeman has put that tension into direct language: "Yes. I think soul food is seen as something that can’t be healthy." The statement is plain, but the response is practical rather than rhetorical. In the kitchen, the answer is the food itself: deliberate, grounded, and made to show that soulful cooking can be expansive without losing its center.
Signature
Shenarri's signature dishes include Southern fried lasagna and waffles with fried oyster mushrooms instead of fried chicken. Both dishes show the method clearly: recognizable formats, handled with enough control to change texture and expectation without losing the dish’s basic pull.
In Their Words “Yes. I think soul food is seen as something that can’t be healthy.”
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Shenarri
What is Shenarri Freeman's current role?
As of 2026, Shenarri Freeman is Executive Chef.
Where did Shenarri Freeman train or study?
Shenarri Freeman trained at Howard University and Institute of Culinary Education.
What recognition has Shenarri Freeman received?
James Beard Award semifinalist for Emerging Chef (2022).
