09/08/2023
Favorite Chef Competition 2023 8-9-23
ATTENTION 2 - 4 - 1 voting up until midnight tonight!
I thought I would touch base with all of you, and since there are so many new people who joined in and supported me throughout the Favorite Chef 2023 competition, and tell you a little bit more about me: how I became Chef Vedam and what I have planned with the winnings. I will try to keep this as brief as possible, but it is the story itself that led me to be where I am today.
Some of you know me from where I grew up, in the coastal town of Gloucester, Va. As many of you know, I came out of the womb saying that I would be a hairdresser, and that is how many of you first knew me. I remained a hairdresser throughout my days in Gloucester, as well as Richmond, Va., and eventually moved to Atlanta. I continued with hair, becoming an educator for Redken Laboratories for about 10 years (give or take), and ended my career as the Artistic Director of a day spa in Atlanta in 2001. I left the hair industry because of spinal issues due to having spinal meningitis all the way back in 1983.
Natural healthcare and meditation took me to India in the fall of 1999, and it was there that I was given the name Vedam, and I have remained with that name ever since. This also led me to teach meditation and spiritual and personal development, and I was the founder of a spiritual nonprofit in Atlanta, where I met my husband, Nirish, in 2005.
Now, I have to back up a bit in the story because, about the time that I moved to Richmond, I began to have digestive tract issues; however, with many wrong diagnoses and many trips and stays in the hospital, that was way off track, they finally and correctly diagnosed me on August 21, 2014, with having celiac disease. So that anniversary is quickly approaching.
At that time, there were a few things that immediately crossed my mind: 1) I am a foodie and have been one just about all of my life, and I thought a gluten-free diet was a hoax; however, they told me that a GF diet was the only treatment to treat Celiac Disease, 2) The gluten-free food that I had tried tasted like cardboard, and last, 3) Since Nirish and I had moved up to the North Ga mountains to take care of his elderly mother, and I cooked just about every night; I was NOT going to cook 2 different meals a night (1 for them and a gluten-free meal for myself). I immediately became depressed about this diagnosis; however, the doctor made me promise that I would stick to a GF diet for a minimum of 60 days to at least see if it made a difference.
To make a long story shorter, I did stick to it, and within 30 days, I felt so much better. But as I said, I was not going to cook two meals a night, so I had to make good-tasting GF meals, and with my foodie background, I was able to hit on many successes.
I soon began to share those successes on social media, and people asked for a cookbook, so I began to write down my successes and eventually self-published, “Vedam’s Gluten-Free & Fabulous! Recipes From A Southern Gay Househusband.”
Soon after that, people wanted me to begin to cook for them, and my husband found out about the USPCA (United States Personal Chef Association.). I went through their business training program and began to build my business as Chef Vedam.
I immediately began to teach GF cooking at places like Williams Sonoma and private classes that I was booking on my own. I had hit pay dirt because I found a way to cook GF foods that were nutritious and delicious. Unless people knew prior to me cooking for them that I cooked only gluten-free, they were not able to tell either in taste or texture. There was quite a bit of success, but I had hit a plateau because, as a personal chef, I am licensed and insured to cook in people’s homes. I ultimately wanted to continue to cook for people, but because of my background as a teacher, I wanted to teach; specifically, I wanted to have the first gluten-free cooking show.
Basically, this has caught you up to speed up until this contest. A friend whom I have cooked for many times and had done some special events for turned me onto this contest. It was not the ideal contest that I wanted to be in, but I did think that it could be a great stepping stone to take me further into my goals.
You see, I want a commercial kitchen that I can use to expand my catering services, as well as service more clients, but more explicitly, have a place where I could teach classes as well as film cooking classes, even if they were only on YouTube in the beginning.
Having the prize of $25,000.00 to add to the $10,000 that I had banked from winning a TV cooking contest would be a great start to take me closer to that dream, and this is where you come in.
Some of you know me and are supporting me because you have known me and maybe even loved me from long ago, and many of you are just hearing about me. Maybe I should have done this video long ago, but I didn’t, and you can’t turn back time. So, with that being said, we have until Thursday, August 10th at 10 pm EDT to put me into the #1 slot, which will carry me into the finals of this contest. When I make it that far, I will be one step closer to this dream.
If I do not make it, I will find another way to make these dreams come true, but this would make this dream come true that much faster. I do greatly appreciate the kindness and support that you have given me thus far, but let’s not stop here.
I am sure that the chefs that have made it this far with me, are also great chefs. I am also sure that they, too, have dreams of expanding their businesses in some way. I am also sure that their dreams are special, but I know mine is about being able to help so many others because having a gluten-free diet is truly the only medical way to address a gluten sensitivity or Celiac Disease.
I want people to see that they, too, can have delicious and nutritious foods that are 100% gluten-free and that do not taste like s**t or cardboard.
As I said, having and sticking to a gluten-free diet is the only treatment for celiac disease, but many others are recommended to go to a gluten-free diet; for example, anyone with any auto-immune disease is usually recommended to embrace a gluten-free diet.
So, I ask you today to not only help me achieve this goal but help me to help others learn about the wonders of a GF diet. Please help me, and with that, I will close for now.
Hopefully, you will see me again over the weekend, express my gratitude, and help me celebrate being in the finals of Favorite Chef 2023.
Please share this with as many people as possible. Share this on your feed, as well as you may want to tag people on this post to alert them. You may even will want to share with them how you know me, whether it be through hair, meditation, or cooking.
I appreciate you! And thank you so much for your support!
Again 2 - 4 - 1 votes until midnight tonight, but we have until 10 pm EDT to get me to #1.
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I am grateful to/for you, and thank you for your continued support, sharing, and voting for !
