As a latchkey kid, celebrity chef Nikki Shaw had to learn how to feed herself until her parents got home from work. Like many Black families, she also had a family member who was an exceptional cook.
“My aunt Brenda would always bring me in the kitchen. When she’d make dough from scratch, she’d always give me my own ball of dough to create whatever I wanted. She played a huge part in me going into the culinary field,” said Shaw.
The California girl graduated from Howard University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism, but cultivated her love of cooking at Southeastern Culinary Academy followed by an internship at Disney World in Orlando.
Shaw isn’t called a celebrity chef for nothing. She’s cooked for various members of the Los Angeles Lakers and Indiana Pacers; Jamie Foxx; Earvin “Magic” Johnson; Shaquille O’Neal and many others.
Shaw brings her expertise out of the kitchen as host of “Today’s Flavor” a daily radio segment; broadcasted on Jamie Foxx’s “The Foxxhole” on Sirius XM; streamed on 102.9 KBLX in San Francisco and 107.5 WBLS in New York; and is the owner of Flavor Caterer in Oakland, Calif.
Shaw is a featured chef on NBA.com for the NBA Cares campaign, the league’s global outreach initiative that addresses important social issues, and is the featured chef for the Indiana Pacers and L.A. Lakers official website.
Shaw is also an expert contributor for Momlogic.com and KraftFoods.com. She’s also been a featured chef on TV shows such as “The Ultimate Merger” and “Basketball Wives.”
Chef Nikki has appeared on Food Network as a finalist on “The Next Food Network Star: Season 3.” Indy residents can currently see chef Shaw regularly on Indy Style on Wish-TV 8.
Today, Shaw is considered an eclectic chef that’s health conscious but admits she wasn’t always cognizant of what she ate.
“I grew up with the can of bacon grease on the stove,” recalls Shaw. “Everything my family cooked started with dipping in that can of grease. As we became educated we knew that was not the way to go. We could also see that our family members were overweight.”
She has encouraged her family to alter their eating habits such as swapping ground beef for ground turkey, cutting pork out of their diet entirely and boosting their fish, chicken, fruit and vegetable intake. She also makes it clear to her clients and family that taste should never be compromised when eating healthy and that it is possible through cooking methods, herbs/spices and other healthy items.
Shaw is certainly conscious of what she prepares for her husband, Brian, who is the associate head coach for the Indiana Pacers and her three children. Looking at her own childhood, she made sure that she introduced healthy foods and habits right away.
“My husband was probably my toughest critic on eating healthy so I had to use a little trickery,” laughed Shaw.
She went on to say that another critic she faces is Black women who are adamant about using fat back, ham hock or salt pork to make food “taste right” or insist on serving meat at every meal. Shaw acknowledges that some healthy foods just aren’t going to taste exactly like full fat items, but says people should at least try to make a change in their diet.
“I’ve seen the effects of junk food and I’ve seen the effects of healthy food. I teach people to at least be healthy for your family. Don’t you wish your great grandmother or grandmother was around just a little longer or could meet their grandkids,” asked Shaw. “My motivation is my kids. I love that I can run and jump with my kids…I can hang right with them.”
For these and other reasons, Shaw champions healthy eating and is passionately committed to fighting obesity, particularly in children.
She spreads her message of the benefits of healthy foods through various mediums. She’s a speaker for the American Diabetes Association and is a spokesperson for the California Department of Public Health’s “Network for a Healthy California & Champions for Change” campaign. Here, she highlights health/food issues in the Black community such as access to large grocery stores and encouraging inner city establishments such as liquor stores to begin offering fruits and vegetables.
She is currently working on bringing a similar program to Indiana.
Armed with a friendly personality and a wealth of knowledge, Shaw is on a mission to help Blacks lead a healthier lifestyle beginning with what they eat.
“Preparing delicious food is important, but just be smart about it,” said Shaw.
For more information, visit ChefNikkiShaw.com.
