People often asks me what inspires my culinary culture and I tell them two things: Travel and My cooking family.  I chose a Daddy that blessed my Saturday mornings with pancakes, waffles and biscuits sopped in syrup, grits with sugar (it’s the only way I’d eat them), scrambled eggs and cheese, sausage patties, and crispy bacon.  I have fond memories of rising to the smell of cooked butter and foregoing showers and proper morning hygiene etiquette just to get seated at the breakfast table first.  When my friends would come over to spend the night my father would entertain us with either homemade chilli dogs, fried fish, french fries, mac and cheese, spaghetti with a special sauce that took 2 hours to make, bread with his special garlic spread and he’d never fail us with the banana pudding (with custard from scratch) and peach cobbler that was laboriously and lovingly coverd with hand made dough.  My friend’s loved my dad so much that they used to come to my door and ask my mother if Mr. Chapman could come outside and play!  We were all fascinated with the love, ease and enthusiasm that my father put into his meals.  I was always in awe when I would watch him throw down.  It’s as if he created magic in edible form and all was right with the world once he served you.

Mommy on the other hand didn’t quite grow up on the Southern Paula Deen cooking scene.  I knew I had a very advanced palate coming into this Earthly realm, so I chose parents who demographically could give me what I need.  My Jamaican mother nourished my life with curry chicken every Sunday dinner, rice and peas (which I constantly begged for), ackee and saltfish and fried dumpling were a breakfast treat, fruit cake every Christmas, ginger-less Sorrell (which apparently is a Jamaican sin) and plenty of Easter bun and cheese! My mother explored more than typical Jamaican dishes though, we traveled all over the world and re-created dishes that suited our appetites.  Every weekend we grocery shopped for our culinary journeys, and with me by her side as her sous-chef we conquered the globe bite by bite.  It sounds all good now, but from 13-18, I hated being stuck in the kitchen chopping, tossing, mixing, getting, washing and doing….I would’ve rather watched BET and catch up on the latest dance moves and lyrics.  But alas who knew, that I would have actually left behind the esteemed pyschological and educational practices that Harvard and Spelman tried to grill in me to honor my calling as a Culinary Culturalist and explore food the way it’s never been explored before.

Perhaps they knew.

Okay so I have a confession to make. Don’t judge me   I’ve eaten 5 hamburgers this year! Yep that’s right, I said it, it’s out…..5 nice thick juicy grass fed iron packed well done tender beef pattes with toasted buns, ripe tomato slices, crisp slices of lettuce, roasted onions and cheese….extra cheese….yeah I totally consumed that 5 times and it’s only June…gasp.

Well for all you blog regulars, you know that I suscribe to a flexitarian diet, which is vegetarian eating habits with meat eating tendencies.  The thing is, my feelings around meat are NOT rooted in a hard-core, tree hugging, Nazi type of veganism…..nah I just rarely consume it because of what it does to my body. Now I am not a fan of how animals are treated in the U.S. meat industry….ABSOLUTELY NOT!  Which is why, as a personal chef, when my clients order meat, I always use free range, grass fed, local, organic meat/poultry sources.

Let’s be real, how we treat nature is how we treat ourselves and I do believe in the interconnectedness of us all.  We are all one and just  because we have a really advanced brain system that alllows us to determine right and wrong and cows seemingly are big animals who graze around all day doesn’t give us the right to herd them into massive, overcrowded storage houses and force them to live amongst their own manure while being fed rotten chicken parts and corn stock with chains around their neck until they are beheaded and then served at the next “prime” steak house.  But I digress….clearly Food Inc. is still on my mind

But going back to the connection that we inherently have with animals and the title of this post. I’ve been craving burgers…..or so I thought.  I am a student of Tantra, a Kemetic and Indian lifestyle, and have been for a  while, which is an ancient wisdom and understanding of energy and how it all comes together in this awesome Universe we live in.  As a Tantrika and foodie, I can’t help but combine the two and put together what have been puzzle pieces for my love affair with food from I exited the womb.  Taoism, an Eastern philosopy, which deals with a lot of the similar energies and principles as Tantra, deeply explores yin and yang.  I’m sure you’ve seen it before, that circle split between  a loopy line of black and white that brings a visual to sayings like “opposites attract” and “all is one”. .

Well food is no different, there are yin foods and yang foods and if you voted for me here on my OWN show (thank you) then you’ve gotten a hint of what I mean.  Yin foods are feminine energy and are sweet in nature, like mangoes, more soft and moist like our magical wombs, and tend to grow above ground, showing off all of their sexiness like strawberries.  Yang foods are masculine energy and are more bitter, hotter or sturdier like potatoes and tend to grow in darker places like underground.  Or they fall in the category of meat, which is extremely masculine.

HA! There it is people.  All of this time, I was thinking that I was falling off the flexitarian bandwagon and secretly demonizing myself for sneaking in all of this red meat.  Dude, I was craving it big time and it wouldn’t leave me alone, it was like a duppy voice in mi backside! I was fiending for iron, fiending for power, fiending for massive energetic-get-it-done rush, fiending for warriorness, fiending for Shango, fiending for…..HIM.  Whew, it’s finally out…I said it…I’m the black masked Hamburgler seeking the energetic rush of meat.  Masculine meat. HIM.  Sure I could get an iron supply from a host of dark green leafy veggies….WOMP! WOMP! Who wants that when cows, bulls, bison, the range brings a strength and vigor and energetic muscle that a very feminine being such as myself could use every now and then. Which brings me to my next and final point.  Men.  They bring that energy and oh am I grateful that they do.  No one puts it down like HIM.  No one fulfills that like HIM.  So perhaps that was it, all this stripe cape and black sunglass wearing, sneaking up to the take out bar, hiding my beloved masculine meat in a bag as I ducked and dodged any person in sight and high tailed it to my car where I could love on this yang beef in the privacy of my own home.  That’s why…..because I crave HIM.  If you read this post …..then you already know why and how I crave HIM.  And now my Flexitarian Presidency Card is no longer in question, I’m safe even with all my energy cravings.

I took a vacation. After embracing my path and making a major career switch by leaving my full time 7:30-3 and fully committing my being to Naturi Beauty, I decided it was time to take a break. After all working a full-time job while building a multi-billion dollar empire is no easy task and while the transition was a fulfilling one, by the time I looked up from my to-do list for the summer, my body decided it could no longer keep up with my mind and hence demanded that I vacate.
Vacate. It’s what a lot of us do when things get a little Crazy. #noticethecapitalC. Unmaneagable. Rough. Monotonous. We’ll find ourselves dancing to a tune of shoulda, woulda, coulda’s if we’re not careful, especially if we decide that vacating is more safe than being in the moment.

So vacate I did, but I didn’t leave my body, emotions, nor thoughts….I left my space. Currently I’m in DC getting ready to embrace the streets with a bunch of Bacchanal for the Caribbean Carnival. I’ve spent my nights with entertainment and lots of body sensory rich activities. I think, I know the energetic exchanges and dances at the salsa club reawakened a part of me that I vacated for awhile all in the name of entrepreneurship. #sonotforgettingthatagain…Mmmm what a night!
During my days, I take self-guided tours, particularly of the mean culinary scene that DC has to offer. Whether I simply gaze at menus, drool at displays, taste when my belly allows or strike up conversations on the Metro #causeIdothat, I find myself in a beautiful, awakened state of beingness.
I do like it here, because admittedly, I do forget what it’s like to be what Geneen Roth, in Women, Food and God calls a state of “inquiry”. That place where we are hyper aware of what’s going on physically, the sensations we feel, the aromas we smell, the sights we see, the textures we feel without any mental attachment to them, just experiencing the essence of the essence and continuing life as if we’re 2 and not 29, trying our best to get it all figured out before 30.
So yeah. My vacation has brought me to the most familiar place of all. Me. That’s right. Nothing unfamiliar but yet completely new. Next to my time in Brazil, this is probably one of the coolest trips ever. While the salsa dancing, carnival jump up, belly enticing eye candy, Cuban musical enjoying, people meeting are all really cool….I think I dig this time of inquiry and I’ll make sure that I don’t treat her like a souveneir, tossed in the luggage, brought home for a temporary ooh and aaah and never to be discovered again until the #i’mmovingclosetcleanout. Nope. Not her. She’s too dope. Way too special. And super necessary for the evolution that is me. In those times when I forget…..because trust me I do forget during my healthy dosages of life fastballs that I try to catch with no gloves…#ouch…yeah in those moments…I’ll have inquiry. I’ll have this summer in D.C. I’ll have Me.

Oprah’s passing on the torch and I’m accepting the light.  First Dr. Phil, then Dr. Oz and then Nate Berkuss and now ME with my OWN Show!  I think Rachel Ray was somewhere up in the mix too! Oprah is a phenomenal example of living in her light and by virtue, giving others the right to do the same.

When I first learned that she was starting her own network, aptly titled OWN, I beamed with joy!  I put it on my Vision Board immediately and knew that my culinary skills, my global perspective, my charming personality and my overall Shelleyisms were made for TV and were being honed for my OWN show.  This is just the beginning, what you see here, is one idea of the many that have been brewing in the pot.  I can’t wait to explore them all and watch them blossom into seasons and series of episodes that change lives and kitchen cabinets!

My body radiates with joy as the whites of my teeth almost kiss the screen for all the cheesing going on over here as I type!  OWN is the bomb.com and I look forward to gracing their program line-up with my own Brand of deliciousness!  Now here’s where you come in (squeal!)….Sooo considering you all grace my inbox and FB and Twitter with your love of my culinary shows, NOW you can grace my OWN Show with your love by VOTING! You can vote all day, every day and any day! As much as you want.  I wouldn’t be mad if you set a timer ever 15 minutes from 9-5 and just voted each time it went off! LOL.  Either ways you get my point, just vote when the mood strikes.  The more the better. Share and spread the word, tell the World that Shelley of Naturi Beauty is coming to a set near them, saving the World one meal at a time and showing us all just how Divine we are with each Bite

I would be remiss if I didn’t tell you about the Mediterranean Getaway that I prepared for the lucky women/mothers/wives/entrepreneurs experienced this past weekend at With Mom In Mind.  We left our involved lives and set sail for sunshine.  Once we arrived, we spiced our tongue with Greek Pesto Swordfish Kebabs and Currant Feta Cous-Cous.  After exploring the beautiful coast lines, we took a seat and cooled down with Minty Lemon Cucumber Cooler.  Before heading home to our families so that we could share our journey, we took one last exploration and sweetened our tastebuds with a Honey Citrus Glazed Mandarin Trifle.  By the time we returned, we were all well refreshed and ready to face the week

Photo taken by Creative Soul Photography

It wasn’t just the Edible Destination trip that gave us energy. We had a mental meal with Christine Martinello, best-selling author of The Momager Guide.  She took us on a ride down mothering lane with fascinating and engaging stories about her own encounters with Mom Management.  It was particularly helpful for me, because as an eventual mother, I often wonder how in the WORLD I plan to manage a child, yet alone the 3 that I want, with my delicious husband, my top rated culinary show, my best-selling culinary book signings, live culinary demos at foodie festivals, managing a million dollar enterprise, my retail natural beauty care line and numerous interviews….yeah….I was “SOOOO tryna” figure that one out!  Then Christine, blessed me with a gem—-she essentially said that motherhood is part of your journey, but it’s not the entire journey. You’ll only raise children for a segment of your life and while you’ll always BE a mother, you’ll also always have your gifts.  Find those gifts and continue to bless yourself and the world with them. Always keep you.

And to prepare us for the main leg of the journey, was a revealing yet calming yoga session with Tiffany Campbell of I Love My Temple Wellness Center. When I say revealing, I mean she revealed every crook and crack of my body….while some of us struggled to maintain balance or even find the position in the first place, Tiffany guided us with her voice, like that of a patient mother who simply trusts that through her gentleness you will find your way. And find our way we did! The Yoga experience was a gift and unlike some classes that I’ve been to, where I feel like I’m competing for the position of the best human pretzel, this one, simply reminded me that no matter what, as I journey in my womanhood/pre-mothering stages, I can always find time to Stretch out the Stress, Bend through the Breaks, and Laugh at my Limbs.

And lastly but not least, I was reminded on how beautiful it is to do what I love and inspire people enough to recreate my love in their own kitchens.  One participant said that if it wasn’t for this event, she would have never tried (eaten) anything like that.  Another attendee exclaimed that she was going to make the meal for her family this week and later confirmed on Facebook how much her family oohed and aaahed!  Another graced my ears by letting me know that I gave her hope beyond chicken and rice.

For all of those women who blessed themselves by sharing in this event, we thank you for you nourishing and nurturing your womanly growth and allowing us to serve you.   And those of you, that can’t wait until the next With Mom In Mind….Akilah at Execumama.com and Naturi Beauty look forward to meeting and feeding you then.

Could it be Ky-Mani Marley or the incredible Vegan and Flexitarian meal that I just served him? Who knows, but I’m still feeling the goosebumpy and euphoric effects of blessing the palate of the son of the legendary Bob Marley.

I blog about my journey as a Personal Chef (one of my many titles) frequently in this space.  Recently, I allowed you guys to get up close and personal with a sneak peek on my picnic with the Hip Hop artist, Common aka Rashid.  I regularly welcome you into my world of publicity dropping the occasional interview or two. And sometimes I get super personal and even share my inner foodie workings and challenges I have with food relating.  But rarely, do I take you all on a journey of what it’s like from start to finish providing private culinary services for clients including celebrities. For shame! Surely you’d love to know

My first introduction to Ky-Mani Marley was in 2000 when I heard his song Dear Dad (which you can see him perform below) and felt every bone in my body vibrate to his beautiful voice.  Then I had the visual pleasure of seeing him in film in  Shottas in 2002 (brraaaaap!!!).  Later I solidified my respect for this talented man when I fell in love with his character Kassa in one of my favorite movies of all time, One Love.

So enter last week when a little birdie informs me that he is going to be in town for his Dear Dad Book Tour and this particular birdie is organizing it! *squeal* Well, considering that I am all about telling the world who I am and requiring that the world meet me as I am….then naturally, I knew that Ky-Mani Marley wanted me as his personal chef….naturally.

As I, Ky-Mani and the Universe would have it…introductions were made, business was arranged, and deliciousness was in order.

I’ve provided private culinary services for quite some time, however Ky-Mani Marley was my first celebrity client.  Thus shedding new light on the phrase, “if you wait to do everything until it’s right, you’ll probably do much of nothing“.  Soooo typically, I have more time to meet with clients, get a feel for their taste/style/allergies/etc., grocery shop, experiment while cooking, deliver, stay a while and talk and hear them oooh and aaaah over the goodness I put on their tables.

In this case….not so much!  I made (not-so-concrete) plans the night before, touched base that morning and essentially waited…..when working with celebrities, you typically work with their team (manager, publicist, etc.).  That was my first challenge…although we spoke the night before, I was not  able to spend as much time to get a feel for Ky-mani’s culinary desires to inspire my cooking.  However, me being the Culinary Goddess that I am, harnessed his energy and had already prepared a menu inspired by his music and film so that I could be ready-ish.  I get the call at 3 pm…they want the food at 6 pm…RUSH HOUR….right before the book signing.

Hmmmmm, well considering that I had to get my menu approved (which it was) I couldn’t really do grocery shopping prior to. So I switch gears and get into production mode…I have to go to 2 grocery stores so that I can  produce Garlic Ginger Salmon, Jerk BBQ Vegan Chicken Kebabs, Cilantro Rice and Steamed Callaloo with Coconut Milk AND package the food (because Branding is essential) AND get dressed in my 4 inch heels of course (because i had a Harvard Alumni dinner to attend to afterwards) AND be there on time with a Goddess-tude to feed Ky-Mani and his boys!  Yeah! I had to do all of that in 3 hours!  IT was seemingly next to impossible, but I didn’t even entertain that thought for a mere second, because I KNOW that I manifested this experience and I KNEW that I could deliver it!

And deliver it I did!

• Even though there was traffic on the road, Ogun seemed to take the wheel of my vehicle and help me make maneuvers as if I was the star of Talladega Nights!
• Even though my Cilantro Rice tried to play with me and act like it wasn’t gonna cook right, my Goddess put a handle on it!
• Even though I concentrated so hard on preparing the food that I dang near forgot that I had to serve it in something, the voice of Kris, my Brand Manager at Voz Visual popped in my head and reminded me to Brand my presentation, because Naturi Beauty has to speak when I’m not there while they chow down.
• Even though I showed up on time at the WRONG book store (Borders) and had only 20 minutes to get to the right book store (Barnes and Nobles), Ogun and the Time Fairies saw to it that my rush hour, inner city navigation was safe and prompt. Yesssss!

I’m honored to have served a member of the Royal Marley Dynasty….but I’m even more honored to have served my self, my vision, my Goddess and my Truth. To many more celebrity clients….your palate awaits me because this Lioness is on the Rise.

There was a time when food and I weren’t so harmonious. A time when I knew food as friend and foe.  A period when I sabotaged food and it nearly destroyed me.  There was a time when foods such as ginger and avocadoes gave me a gag reflex.  A point when I closetedly indulged in tasteless bites that substituted emotional turmoil.

Yeah, such a time existed when I knew little to nothing about the energetic nature of food.  The way ginger could clear my throat and warm me up on a winter’s day.  The way grapefruit could cleanse me and make me feel refreshed. The way chocolate hit all my spots and made everything right with the world. Even the way a flame broiled burger gave me the itis and gas for days…..that’s right….I knew nothing of how all of this energy converted into my being.

Then came a day when I began to see food as a whole life entity, rather than tiny bits of tastiness that could be killed, chopped, manipulated, heated and served.  Yeah that day came and saved me.  All of a sudden the colors, the textures, the layered flavors, the experience of eating became full and whole, nurturing and nourishing, and growth-full.

So now, I openly eat and openly relate about the joy of being an avid foodie.  So much so that my clients trust me to provide culinary services not only based on their palate but suited to enhance their moods.  My latest project finds me writing a culinary book on the sensual and spiritually elevating nature of foods.  I’m even bringing all of my sexually favored, spiritually enhanced culinary know how to television for a global debut of my culinary journey.  Yeah…all of that is happening now.

It’s a melodic blend of happiness, seasoned with experience, peppered with patience, dotted with a deep knowing, baked with a Godly perfection and eaten with an openness to all that is to come.

And I’m grateful to openly eat with you.

Guess what? Naturi Beauty won her first Blog Award.  Imagine my heart’s content, when I received a comment from my friends over at PeaceLovePrettyThings saying that they gave me and 9 other Bloggers the honor of the Happy 101 Blog Award.  Niceness.

To whom much is given, much is expected.  Thus I must carry the torch proudly and do the work….

• -Thank the beauty that awarded me this. (Thanks PeaceLovePrettyThings
• -Name 10 things that make me Happy
• -Honor 10 other Bloggers with this Award

10 Yummy Reasons for Shelley to Smile (in no particular order)

• Chocolate Cake with loads of frosting and ganache!
• Trips to pedestrian friendly warm locales with fabulous restaurants and shopping.
• Salsa. Soca. Soukous.
• Handsome, generous, evolved men, including my Husband.
• Outings and laugh sessions with my Sis’s from another Misses.
• My furry black Pomeranian Zaina.
• Naturi Beauty
• Basking in and being kissed by the radiant, golden warmth of the Sun.
• Attending Indie Film Festivals.
• Connecting on the WWW by reading comments, e-mails and chats from beautiful “strangers turned friends”.

10 Bomb.com Bloggers that Deserve this Award

1. Akilah @ Execumama Blog – my entrepreneurial mom spirit
2. Bren @ Flanboyant Eats – my Latin inspired fusion foodie friend
3. Joy @ Joy The Baker – my sweet tooth satisfier
4. Patrice @ Afrobella – my beautiful self reflected
5. Lucie @ Honey The Sweeter Life – my twin chef spirit
6. Cherise @ Chocolate Orchid – my natural foodie/beauty sister
7. Zalika @ Lotus of Wadi Arts – my artistic/poetic inspiration
8. Denene @ My Brown Baby – my culinary/lyrical mama
9. Bhavna @ An Indian Summer – my home decor must haves
10. Belle @ Natural-Belle – my natural hair rocks photography

You deserve to walk in your brightest light….Don’t wait to shine….Click and Reserve it here now!

Reserve what? Read my vision and hear me out…..

Every now and then I get a future glimpse of my three beautiful daughters running around outside in a spirited frenzy: singing, laughing and squealing.  I nestle in the grass as my motherly eye surveys the scene and I feel the rays of the sun permeating my body with it’s healing warmth, providing a sense of calm.  In this moment, I smile and think to myself that there was a time before now,  when I had no idea who I would be as a mother.

Then that time presented itself and I showed up with all the mental note pads, emotional presence and spiritual abundance to prepare for the journey of future mama.  Never knowing that this journey would lead me to present to moms everywhere at sold out events across the country.

This journey I’m talking about is none other than With Mom in Mind, the brainchild of ExecuTuri.  A premiere lifestyle event for new, veteran and eventual mothers (like myself) who know that they can nourish and nurture their entire SELF in tandem with their life partner, children and career.

The beauty in it all…..is I get to share it with you.  With Mom in Mind will be in Atlanta on April 24th featuring some of the most influential woman around, including Akilah Richards of Execumama and yours truly, *moi* of Naturi Beauty.  There will be getaways, giveaways, and takeaways and more. I can’t give you all of the details, but I will say that you will leave

• relaxed
• renewed
• refreshed
• re-energized
• and WELL FED *courtesy of a live cooking demo by Culinary Artisan Shelley Chapman of Naturi Beauty

With Mom in Mind promises to deliver an experience that will help you embrace and infuse your true self, define your version of Woman and create a lifestyle that helps you nourish . nurture . grow.  Soooooo your life and I are asking….will you join us?

The other morning I received a tweet asking me if I was always this happy or is this just my Twitter face?  I giggled and responded that “I am genuinely this way. I make life enjoyable and life makes me happy ” After all I am ME, in person, on blog, on Twitter, on FaceBook…there is only…..Me.

It led me to write this post to Future Shelley aka Parallel Shelley aka My LIFE Manifest

Dear Shelley,

I know it seems rare nowadays that you get to savor these quiet moments to yourself.  Between presenting at Food and Wine Festivals across the globe and enjoying 15 hours straight of culinary show tapings for 2 weeks on location for the consecutive season and speaking at book signings to eager cooks/chefs and loyal readers and socializing at trendy events from Milan to Miami and stealing away time to enjoy my love life with HIM ….it’s rare very rare.

But in between your sips of refreshing pomegranate limeade and back and forth trips to the OWN and Food Network Studios, and morning yoga / meditation sessions and late night brain storming for the next food obsession and guest appearances on Oprah and Tyra and constantly energizing your fire….

I remind you about this moment…this very moment when one tweet affirmed that your happy attitude, your strong desire, your creative perspective, your magnificent approach, your loving ways, your sound resolve, your powerful influence, your magnetic qualities, your Goddess and you….yes you….

had a moment….this moment…to savor.

Love Always,

Shelley