Whether you know her as the screaming woman on “Caught Out There”, or from the cheeky lyrics of “Milkshake” or for being the ex-wife of rapper Nas, you will always connect Kelis to rap, hip hop and music. Chances are you will also describe her as a loud, strong and independent woman, much a feminist. However, Kelis has started a whole new journey in life and is now surrounding herself, very unexpectedly, with pots and pans.
After taking a Cordon Bleu training in 2008, Kelis is now a chef with her very own pop up restaurant in London. You can also catch her cooking up your next meal at festivals in the UK this summer. That’s a large change from music.
In food, she mixes up her Caribbean/American roots with whatever she’s tasted while travelling the world.
She’s not the only artist who has proven to have hidden talents in the kitchen. Rocker Midge Ure participated in celebrity Master Chef in 2007 and surprised professional chefs with his creativity in cooking. Just like Kelis, the exposure he had gotten to the international cuisine, due his career in music, showed in his own food.
Neneh Cherry has also left the days of “Buffalo Stance” behind her and exposed herself to a whole new audience with her very own cooking show on TV, usually also cooking with a Caribbean flavor. Though she still considers herself an amateur, it’s clear her cooking is not to be underestimated, ‘cos it’s even caught the attention of Gordon Ramsay.
Lastly, Adina Howard (known from “Freak Like Me”), is also getting herself familiar with cooking and hopes to follow in Kelis’ footsteps to switch careers.
For Kelis, though, the world of professional cooking, is not completely unfamiliar. Her mother owned a catering business, while she was growing up and even though music has been her outlet so far, she’s not ruling out that if food provides her a good living, she’ll not return to music at all.
So, if you are in London, please go to Kelix x Le Bun at Leicester House, London WC2 until July 17th or to Standon Calling Hertfordshire from July 29th to July 31st and get back to me to let me know if her food is as good as her music.
