Shacafrica Simmons

Chef Shac, aka The Life Chef, is the owner and culinary architect of Chef Shac LLC, which is the parent company for Empowered by Food, The North Florida Culinary Incubator, Chef Shac Catering, Life Chef, and The Sensory Experience. Holding degrees in Culinary Arts and Pastry and Confectionery she has now been preparing culinary masterpieces for over 36 years -- 15 of which have been in a professional capacity. Building on the foundation of love and compassion that was laid by the matriarchs of her family, Chef Shac is on a mission to see her community truly empowered through food. Chef Shac is an advocate and lover of food, its history, its benefits, as well as the plight of local farmers and communities who suffer from food deserts and other food access inequalities. She is on a mission to educate communities and individuals alike to take ownership of their relationship with food in an effort to positively impact their health, wealth, and overall well-being. Her professional career as a Chef has afforded her the ability to lend her expertise to universities, governments, corporations, politicians, celebrities, professionally trained athletes, and children as the current culinary instructor of AMI Kids in Tallahassee. Notably, she recently had the opportunity to appear on Food Network's Chopped, and after 3 rounds of competing against three other highly-regarded chefs, she was named the Champion! She is a highly sought-after consultant on food preparation and diet, and recently designed meal and food planning programs for award-winning athletes that competed in the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil.