Stateside’s conversation with Chef Kiki Louya
Chef Kiki Louya’s had a hand in some of the brightest spots on Detroit’s food map. She co-founded Folk Cafe and Market and The Farmer s Hand, both in Corktown. In addition, she’s a writer, food activist, and restaurant consultant who’s been active in movements to eliminate tips in favor of living wages for servers and kitchen staff. She also just finished a stint on season 18 of the competitive reality cooking show, Top Chef.
Chef Louya’s early food memories are transcontinental
“Early on in life, my dad used to make a lot of food from, you know, his native country. The really interesting part of that is, when he first moved here, he couldn t find the same ingredients. So he had to kind of use his imagination. So a lot of things were kind of like his interpretation of Congolese cuisine, just using things like, you know, cream of wheat instead of, you know, fufu, and that kind of thing. So, you know, he adapted. And my