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Born and raised in Richmond, Virginia, Shenarri Freeman’s culinary career began while she was in college. While pursuing a degree in physical therapy at Howard University – her original plan was to work in sports medicine – she took a job as a line cook at a concert venue around the corner from campus. In short order, Chef Shenarri’s professional path pointed in a different direction. 

She left Howard, and while figuring out her next step, found herself working at a restaurant and living a late-night, hard-drinking lifestyle. She knew needed a change. That change was converting to veganism, a health and lifestyle decision that also set her professional life in motion. 

Plant-based, health-conscious cooking became Chef Shenarri’s passion. She did pop-up dinners and other cooking gigs around Washington D.C. for a while, and eventually sought a formal culinary education. In a fortuitous turn of events, her research into an accredited, nutrition-minded cooking program coincided with the launch of 91����߹’s Health-Supportive Culinary Arts program.*

Within a matter of months, Chef Shenarri had moved to New York, begun her coursework at 91����߹, and landed a job at Avant Garden, a beloved vegan restaurant in Manhattan’s East Village neighborhood. A part of the Overthrow Hospitality group, Avant Garden’s owner Ravi DeRossi was quietly revolutionizing the neighborhood with a series of chic, plant-based restaurants. 

Timing was on Chef Shenarri’s side. (So, too, were hard work and natural talent.) DeRossi eventually tapped her to be Executive Chef for his next venture, and he gave her full creative license. Fresh out of culinary school, she hit the ground running. Chef Shennari’s concept for Cadence was a vegan soul food eatery that recalled the comfort foods of her youth – but with a plant-based, health-conscious twist. 

Cadence and Chef Shennari were immediate hits. Within one year of opening, Cadence received a glowing review from Pete Wells of The New York Times, and Chef Shenarri was named to Forbes 30 under 30 and shortlisted for the James Beard ‘Emerging Chef of the Year’ award. Cadence also made almost every enviable dining list, including The New York Times’ “Top 10 new New York restaurants of 2021” and “Top 50 Restaurants in America,” while Esquire put it at number nine on its 2021 list of “Top 40 Restaurants in America.”

Since then, Chef Shenarri and Cadence have been featured in Vogue, landed a spot in New York’s Michelin Guide, and secured another James Beard Award nomination for “Best Chef: New York State.” 

Chef Shenarri and Overthrow Hospitality also opened another restaurant, Unbutu, in 2022. Located in LA’s West Hollywood, Unbutu is a vegan restaurant that draws from West African cuisine.

*now Plant-Based Culinary Arts