From Executive Chef To Entrepreneur: Why Kia Damon Is Dedicating Her Life To Feeding LGBTQ+ And Black Communities

Kia Damon is many things. She’s an advocate for the Black and LGBTQ+ communities, the first culinary director of feminist food publication Cherry Bombe and an entrepreneur. But first and foremost, she is her family’s chef.

Growing up in a big family in Orlando, Florida, Damon found herself in the kitchen at an early age. What she didn’t learn cooking alongside her grandmother, she learned from watching Bobby Flay and Iron Chef. By the time she was 11, her grandmother’s lessons in basting and Flay’s tutorials in maximalism had prepared her to become the cook of the house.