Kiki Louya '01 Competing in "Top Chef" Premiering April 1

Kiki Louya '01 will represent Detroit in the upcoming season of Bravo TV's popular cooking competition "Top Chef," premiering April 1st. Kiki is a chef, writer, food activist, and restaurant consultant. The New York Times named her one of “16 Black Chefs Changing Food in America” because of her pursuit for social justice, use of local agriculture, and fight for fair wages at her restaurants. Kiki received critical acclaim for her work as chef/owner of Detroit’s Folk & the Farmer’s Hand, two award-winning restaurants, before eventually stepping down from leadership in March 2020. The daughter of a Congolese immigrant, Kiki draws inspiration from her own cultural background, often using food as a conduit for deeper discussions around what it means to be Black in America. She is a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu, as well as the University of Michigan, and has given lectures about her expertise on food, farming, and entrepreneurship with students at Yale and Georgetown.

Kiki was recently featured in the Birmingham Bloomfield Downtown magazine in which her attendance at Roeper is included. "What’s next for Kiki Louya will partially play out on the eighteenth season of Top Chef, which is scheduled to premiere on Bravo TV on April 1, 2021. Find out by following at kikilouya.com and instagram.com/kiki_louya." Read the full article HERE.