SUPERPOWER: Bringing people together through food
Private Chef and Caterer and Market Manager, Miss Ruby’s Corner Market
Growing up, Keyarna Frederick’s mother cooked enough to feed a full house even when it was just for the two of them. Now a professional chef herself, Frederick remembers the love for food that her mother instilled in her as a child, and she carries forward those values of service and community in all of her work.
The first African American and female chef in West Virginia to host a farm-to-table dinner in celebration of Juneteenth and Black History Month, Frederick says she keeps the “Three Cs”—community, culture, and celebration—at the forefront of everything she does. Her Juneteenth dinner celebrations not only serve amazing farm-fresh food, they also center the work of local black farmers. “This should be something people celebrate every single year in West Virginia,” Frederick says. “There’s so much culture and history that I think people have forgotten about, and if I can be that reminder, then I’m happy to be.”
Also the market manager for Miss Ruby’s Corner Market, Frederick curates quality foods at affordable prices. She’s proud of the bonds she’s formed with the kids who hang out at the market after school and the ways she’s made them more curious about the food they eat. “Once upon a time, they wouldn’t eat a salad or they wouldn’t like lettuce on their sandwiches,” she says. “Now, when I make them food, they’re not picky—they’ll eat anything.” She notes that she might like to open a camp to get children interested in food from an early age, as she was.
Whatever her future holds, it will have food and its ability to sow community at the center. Frederick says that 135 strangers attended her second annual Juneteenth celebration dinner this past summer, and although they may not have been friends when they sat down at the table, by the end of the night, everyone was dancing together.
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Since 2014 WV Living magazine has been honoring West Virginia Wonder Women, amazing women who are raising the bar in their communities, serving as beacons of light in their industries, and forcing change for the greater good. WV Living is proud to celebrate these Appalachian mothers, millennials, and mavens proving that in a time full of uncertainty, divisiveness, and hate, love for one another is all we really need. No need for bulletproof bracelets or a golden lasso of truth—these women are creating a better West Virginia with their can-do attitudes and Mountain State spirit.
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