Article by Robert F. Owens and Debra Freeman
Photography by Tora Carter and Joshua Fitzwater
Although many people would love to make a mark in their professions, few have the talent to excel, and even fewer have paved the way for others to succeed as well.
In the Hampton Roads culinary sphere, perhaps there is no better example of that than Dedra Blount and her twin sister Debra Brabson. After years of catering and hosting cooking classes throughout the area, the pair opened Now You’re Cooking Culinary Studio eight years ago in Chesapeake. Their dream was to create a space of their own where they could teach people to cook real food and possibly bring back the family dinner they themselves enjoyed so immensely growing up. Together, they teach classes for people of almost every age and level of experience, including the Kinder-chef class for children aged three to six, and Superheroes, a hospitality training program for autistic adults.
Above: Chef Dedra Blount (photograph by Joshua Fitzwater) Below: Students at Now You’re Cooking Culinary Studio (photographs by Tora Carter)
Blount is a graduate of Johnson and Wales University and has been a culinary educator for more than 28 years at both the high school and collegiate levels. Many of her students have gone on to have successful careers in the culinary arts in Hampton Roads and beyond, and the totality of chefs she has taught over the years are too numerous to list here, although Chef Rock Harper and Chef Tennille Middleton, two of her former students, have reached national acclaim.
Brabson is the administrator and an instructor at Now You’re Cooking Culinary Studio, and originally got involved with food to support her sister’s culinary dreams. However, it is evident that she has a gift for working with younger students, so much so her sister calls her “The Toddler Whisperer.”
Debra Brabson, co-owner of Now You’re Cooking Culinary Studio (photograph by Tora Carter) Below: Students at Now You’re Cooking Culinary Studio (photographs by Tora Carter)
Blount, also known as ”Chef D”, originally got started in the culinary field to honor her ancestry, remembering her grandmother and how she used cooking for others as a means to show her love, and it is evident in her cheerful disposition and her attention to detail and culinary skills that she is continuing the tradition.
The pair says their impact isn’t recognized until later and they are just laying the foundation. However, the looks on their student’s faces during the lessons and the pride in their eyes when they leave a class with the dinner they just made, shows their impact is more immediate. The influence Chef D and her sister have had on the Hampton Roads food scene, as well as the lives of people of the area over the last twenty eight plus years, has been nothing short of significant. Their teaching has spanned generations and will be felt for generations to come.
For more on Blount and Brabson, visit nowurcooking.com
For more on the photography and work of Tora Carter, visit @toracartermedia
For more on the article’s co-author, Robert F. Owens, visit robowensphotography.com
Icons of the Industry: Dedra Blount and Debra Brabson was originally published in the sold-out 016 print edition of Southern Grit Magazine. For other limited edition printed back issues of Southern Grit, visit southerngritmagazine.bigcartel.com
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