ICE Alumni Shenarri Freeman stands behind the marble counter at Cadance restaurant in a black chef's jacket and black hat

Shenarri Freeman

Alumni
Cadence, Executive Chef
New York, NY
Ubuntu, Executive Chef
Los Angeles, CA

Biography

Born and raised in Richmond, Virginia, Shenarri Freeman鈥檚 culinary career began while she was in college. While pursuing a degree in physical therapy at Howard University 鈥 her original plan was to work in sports medicine 鈥 she took a job as a line cook at a concert venue around the corner from campus. In short order, Chef Shenarri鈥檚 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鈥檚 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 ICE鈥檚 Health-Supportive Culinary Arts program.*

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

Timing was on Chef Shenarri鈥檚 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鈥檚 concept for Cadence was a vegan soul food eatery that recalled the comfort foods of her youth 鈥 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 鈥楨merging Chef of the Year鈥 award. Cadence also made almost every enviable dining list, including The New York Times鈥 鈥淭op 10 new New York restaurants of 2021鈥 and 鈥淭op 50 Restaurants in America,鈥 while Esquire put it at number nine on its 2021 list of 鈥淭op 40 Restaurants in America.鈥

Since then, Chef Shenarri and Cadence have been featured in Vogue, landed a spot in New York鈥檚 Michelin Guide, and secured another James Beard Award nomination for 鈥淏est Chef: New York State.鈥 

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

 

*now Plant-Based Culinary Arts

Education

  • The 天美传媒, Health-Supportive Culinary Arts Diploma, 2019
  • Howard University, BS, Physical Therapy (incomplete) 

Awards & Honors

  • Michelin Guide, Executive Chef - Cadence, 2024
  • Forbes "30 Under 30," 2023
  • The James Beard Awards, 2023, Semifinalist, "Best Chef: New York State"
  • Nation's Restaurant News, Cover Story - August 2023
  • The James Beard Awards, 2022, Semifinalist, "Emerging Chef of the Year"
  • Edible Manhattan, Cover Story - Spring 2022
  • Esquire, "Top 40 Restaurants in America," 2021
  • The New York Times, "Top 10 New Restaurants of 2021"
  • The New York Times, "Top 50 Restaurants in America," 2021