On the rare occasion, Chef Ro is not in her chef whites.
Chef “Ro” Roshara Sanders knows how to get attention. She was a Food Network Chopped Champion (Military Veteran’s Edition) in 2015; recognized as a Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Over Achiever in 2018; and she became the Culinary Institute of America’s first African American female instructor in 2020, just to name a few things. And Sanders continues to be on a mission to keep the stove burning in the kitchen but make change everywhere she goes. Since working with those on the top of the industry, including her recognition as a James Beard Foundation Featured Chef as well as participating in the Foundation’s Chefs Bootcamps for Policy and Change, Sanders uses any and every platform to use her voice. From the CIA classroom with her students to posts on social media channels, she has a lot to say.
Last week, Chef Ro launched the third season of “Reel Inspiration,” her Instagram vlog series that tackles big subjects head on. Being in an industry where chaos amidst the daily grind and working yourself to the bone is still the norm, Sanders says, “That is not sustainable, it is crucial to make time for mental health.” She decided to start the conversation on with social media, a place, she admits, can be rife with negativity. With a simple but vibrant DIY set, and her vintage SPAM lunch box that has become a signature talking point with fans, Sanders gets real.
“Let’s tap into the lunch box,” she says at the opening of each segment. Then she pulls out a card labeled with the topic of the day. In just a minute or two she speaks directly to followers about topics like accountability, vulnerability, ego, depression, fear, and work-life balance. She even admits to not getting it all right herself—having slept in her car in between shifts on more than one occasion, for example—but knows it is essential for people to find balance, and if they can’t, to ask for help.
Quick snapshop from Chef Ro’s IG “Reel Inspiration”
In some ways, this open-door policy to conversations surrounding mental health is a two-fold experience: Sanders gets vulnerable on screen for a moment for others and herself. Instead of being at a grand event or venue, something that has become part of her new normal, everything in the mini-series is stripped away. She’s not cooking; she’s speaking directly into the camera about things many are apprehensive to address. As a combat veteran having served terms in Iraq and Afghanistan, Sanders opens up about PTSD and the need for dialogue. These brief conversations act as a mode of therapy and a source of strength. She hopes to destigmatize talking about mental health, and her weekly segments of “Reel Inspiration” is one small way to do just that.
Back on the big stage, however, she is making change by using her voice in other ways. Empowered by her experience a few years ago with James Beard Foundation’s Chef Bootcamp for Policy and Change, she continues to be involved. In addition to the program being a fertile ground for the good of food equity and sustainability, Sanders says it has given her more of a voice “and the language and the ability to speak about policy.” She was able to enact change during the pandemic and speak to the President of the Veteran’s Administration and later participate in an event that helped feed over 1,100 veterans, a community of which she is now a part; and an event that felt especially personal.
And back in the classroom at CIA is where Chef Ro keeps things real and makes change, with her students every day. A priority, she says, is to get them to understand what hard work really is. Sanders, who graduated from the CIA nearly a decade says, “Too many think they are going to graduate and immediately go viral or have a Food Network show. But it takes hard work. I’ve been doing this since I was 14 years old, but many think my successes happened overnight.” She continues, “Nothing happens overnight.” Sanders says some students have the NFL mindset. “As if they are going to graduate high school or play college football and automatically get drafted… I tell them, it’s a 1% chance that you’ll make it on the Food Network. Do you realize it took Gordon Ramsay 30 years in the field before he was Gordon Ramsay?”
Cooking with Love at CIA
When Sanders is not in the classroom or working with one of the many organizations she’s a part of, she travels. “I love that the CIA encourages us to keep growing and expanding our knowledge within the field,” Sanders says. At the beginning of March, Chef Ro traveled to Cameroon with food historian Michael Twitty of The Cooking Gene and a group of African American chefs. Sanders says of the trip, “How do we know who we are if we don’t know where we come from?” and plans to incorporate some of what she’s learned in the new Bachelor’s program she’s developing with colleagues at the CIA which will focus on African Diaspora Cuisines.
Chef Ro has come a long way from her mom’s table in Bridgeport, Connecticut. But it’s likely that very table that nurtured her voice and a belief that food matters; and further still, that matters large and small are worth talking about.