substantial nourishment

Inobe is a chef, model and Jewelry & Fashion designer. She is 35 years old and resides in Los Angeles, CA with her daughter. You can find more information about her many pursuits here.

What’s your favorite junk food?

Chocolate and plain salted potato chips. Sometimes at the same time. Take a bite of chocolate and then have some chips. The sweet and salty thing is my jam.

Which celebrity would you like to have a meal with?

Rihanna. I’ve been manifesting being friends with her for the last six years. She's a fellow Pisces and she inspires me as a mogul in the making. I would love to cook for her and with her.

I have a good feeling about this. I think it’s gonna happen.

How did you become a chef?

I’ve always loved cooking. I’ve been cooking since I was about 8 years old. I would watch cooking shows, infomercials, Julia Child and Emeril Lagasse learning different techniques. I ended up going to school for fashion instead of going to culinary school like I thought I would. 

Now, I’m actually at a point where I’ve come back around to the culinary arts through the lens of health and wellness. For the last decade I’ve been studying health and wellness. I’ve changed my lifestyle, my diet and simultaneously witnessed my friends, family and the people in my community suffer from all of these different ailments. Ailments that are easily preventable through diet, exercise and small lifestyle changes. I wanted better for my people. I wanted us to be healthy. I’m always trying to get to the root cause of something because then I feel like I can solve it permanently. I realized that the root cause of all of these health issues was lack of knowledge, access, and cultural and familial pressure to keep doing and eating what we always have. I thought deeply about it and it inspired me to create foods that would allow people to enjoy the things they love without negatively impacting their health.

That’s incredibly inspiring. I love that you’re working so hard to make a difference. 

I think getting to the root cause of things can feel really complex, but it can be much simpler than we might think. Your strategy of maintaining the joy of food but making it healthy is so spot on. We’re not designed to live lives that are as complicated as the perception of healthy eating can feel like.

The way that we eat and think about food can be very emotional. People look to food for different things outside of the base needs of nourishment, fuel, and energy. People bond over food, families come together over food. It’s serious for a lot of people and cultures. When I look at my people, it’s no different. I’ve had to sit down and figure out the connection between what we eat and why we continue to pass down these unhealthy habits generation after generation. With that comes disease. Diabetes doesn’t run in our family, poor eating habits run in our family. I’m determined to figure out how we can bond through food, feel full and satisfied while still eating healthy. Who said that we have to sacrifice flavor and satisfaction for health? Who says those things are mutually exclusive? It’s called seasoning, people!-laughs- 

What role did food have in your household growing up?

My mother was a single mother. When I was in Kindergarten, she was starting college. We were growing up together in a way, and I had a lot of responsibility starting from a young age. As I said I’ve been cooking since I was 8 years old and that’s because I was a latchkey kid. I would walk myself home from school, lock the door, make myself something to eat, and do my homework. I was very independent at the age of 8. The act of cooking became empowering, and it gave me a sense of independence and self-reliance. I could take care of myself. 

After my mom graduated with her master’s, she had my brother, so then there was a baby at home. By the time I was in high school I was cooking almost all of the meals in my house. My mom encouraged my exploration of different flavors and experimenting with different things. We would have pizza night on the weekends, where I would make 3 or 4 big pizzas from scratch and we would have friends over.

There were also times when we didn’t have a lot of food. We had to get creative and scrape together something to eat with what we had. Coming from that experience, I really appreciate food. I appreciate what it brings to my life, I give thanks for it and I don’t take it for granted because I know what it’s like to not have any. 

Sometimes the hardest parts of our lives allow us to become the softest, best, and most grateful versions of ourselves. 

What was your journey around figuring out what food feels good?

My mom started me on this health and wellness journey. She stopped eating pork and beef in the 90s. She planted the seeds and now I’ve surpassed her and have started to educate her on new things. I learned from a young age that I could be nourished from things that I wouldn’t expect, like nuts & legumes. 

You’re not new age. You’re not doing this because it’s trending. I mean, thank god that it’s trending. This country, our world needs this.

We need substantial nourishment. I want everybody to get into this. It’s such a blessing that it’s trending. People are buying less meat and more impossible meat, and that’s just part of the transition. I’m grateful for that. Whatever we buy, they will produce. 

Obviously what we’re all talking about in 2020 and 2021 is how can I make a difference? You spend your money where you want to make a difference. You vote with your dollar. 

You talked about your relationship with your mom and the fact that you two have been on this journey together for decades. I know from experience that it’s wonderful to have someone on the same journey as you. Are you in a community of like-minded individuals or do you feel more like a pioneer?

I so appreciate having my mom’s support. She inspires me to forge my own path, she’s passed the baton to me and now I’m taking it even further than she did. That’s what you want to get passed down through generations. Hopefully, my daughter will take it even further. 

Regarding my community, I have my hands in a bunch of different circles. In some circles, I’m the pioneer and in other circles, I fit right in. I’m grateful for that because it keeps you humble. When I go to share it with people who don’t have the knowledge, education, or access, I can give it to them in a way that’s palatable, so they can receive it and know I’m not on a high horse as if I’m better than them.

Like, I don’t label myself as a vegan because I think they can get really preachy and bible-thumpy -laughs- I’m not a vegan, I just eat like one -laughs- 

What has the journey around body image been like for you?

Oof that’s a big one. My body image has evolved so many times. I just remember being in high school and that was the first time I was feeling insecure about my body. Prior to that, I was just  “me”, I didn’t give a fuck. In high school girls started filling out and having these bodies and I was all skinny, awkward, and lanky-looking -laughs-. It psyched me out a little bit. I’m 5’10” and “modelesque” I guess you could say. People would make fun of me for that and automatically think I was stuck up and unapproachable just because of how I’m built. That made me want to shrink myself so that people wouldn’t be so standoffish with me. I would have had a better time in high school if I hadn’t done that. I was still myself and walked with pride but I wasn’t fully exuding everything that I was. 

Then I started to fill out in college and that was a whole different journey. I got a little heavier. My eating habits changed and I started to eat more pork and beef and I got kind of juicy -laughs- I was in a relationship and my man really liked my body and I validated my body image through his eyes. I didn’t stop and think about how I felt about my body. It took a while for me to really see myself. Now I’m coming back to loving myself fully. When I look in the mirror I’m like, “you that bitch!” Even if I’m jiggling, “too skinny”, too whatever, all that doesn’t matter. I love it all.

I feel like the permission for women to do that has changed so much over time. 

There was also a difference between before and after having a baby. I have stretch marks and my breasts aren’t as full because I was nursing. I had to go through another process of seeing myself and loving myself.

How did you do that? Give us the secrets.

I would look at myself pre-baby and compare it to now. I had several years of wanting my titties back! -laughs- I realize that what I have now is such a gift because I gave life! I sustained life through my body! The changes that my body went through were beautiful and amazing. I’m still sexy! I’m still hot! I had to come back around to understand that this is grown woman shit. Grown people have a different perspective. I don’t have to be perfect. The flaws are what make me unique and beautiful. 

Through certain movies, people I follow on social media, my mom who is an artist (there were always pictures of naked women and art in our house growing up -laughs- I’ve been able to appreciate my body and other women’s bodies and the fact that we are not all the same is what make us all so beautiful.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.