LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A Louisville woman is hoping to turn a lifelong passion of cooking into a full-time career as a professional chef. 

What You Need To Know

  • Breshia Summers is pursuing her dream to become a professional chef

  • Summers is competing in a national competition which supports the James Beard Foundation

  • Summers aspires to open a comedy club/restaurant with her comedian husband

Admittedly Breshia Summers is most comfortable cooking in her own kitchen, but part of her journey of becoming a professional chef is getting out of her comfort zone, so for the first time Summers is using a shared kitchen space.

“OK, so we’ve got my ingredients for my salmon croquettes,” Summers said, standing over a prep table. “I think it’s amazing. It’s an opportunity for those little people to get their foot in the door to achieve those different dreams and goals that they’re wanting to do.”

Cooking has always been more than a necessity for Summers, and with her children getting older and more independent, she has more time than ever to up her chef game.

“Empty nest syndrome comes on, you know? What’s next? What do I do with my free time?” Summers wondered.

While Summers works full time in insurance, someday she would love to be a full-time chef.

To kick-start her journey, Summers has entered and been accepted in a national cooking competition for home chefs, sponsored by Taste of Home Magazine. The winner gets $25,000, featured in the magazine and cooks one-on-one with celebrity chef Carla Hall.

“I’ve got to up-level my skills if I want to impress someone other than my family because family tells you, ‘yeah, you can do it, you can cook, it tastes good’ but when you get another judge, it’s like ‘oh, I’m kind of scared of their opinion,’” Summers said. “So, now we try to get everyone to vote for us. I’m a small-town person, so I’m trying to get your help,” Summers said.

Summers is branching out. In fact, now when she cooks, she does with an audience. “Oh, I’ve got my TikTok live going,” Summers said.

For years Summers has been a freelance photographer and entertainment promoter alongside her standup-comedian husband, which she said aligns perfectly with her passion in the culinary arts.

“It’s been our dream to have a comedy club of our own and to also have a restaurant in there featuring my food,” Summers said.

Contest aside, this home chef is building her audience while turning up the heat. It’s that good pressure, the kind where we find what we’re made of.

To learn more about the ‘Favorite Chef’ competition and explore all the chefs competing, visit the contest website.

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