Meet Phebean Davies | Chef, Food Photographer and Culinary Educator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Phebean Davies and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Phebean, why did you pursue a creative career?
From a very young age, I always found myself engaging in creative projects both at home and school from drawing caricatures, dying fabrics, cooking, painting, building cupboards and looms and so on. However, growing up in an African household as many would relate, pursing a creative career, such as a professional chef, painter and similar creative fields is a rare consideration, so I was encouraged and decided to do something more “prestigious” – Dentistry.

Wrong decision! Not only did I despise the long nights of cramming chemistry formulas and statistics equations, I became low-key depressed for not having a creative outlet. So, in my 2nd semester of my Sophomore year during my Pre-Dental Bachelor’s program, with deep desire, I took a leap to venture the art field by declaring Interdisciplinary Arts as my minor without giving it much thought. Nevertheless, this path led me to participate in art shows on campus, learn about different topics in art to see the world in a different light, which was quite eye-opening and daunting to my naive and slightly confused student-mentality then.

It’s important to state that even though I started to spend more time on my art projects than on my science courses, I did not know what I was doing or what I wanted to do creatively for a successful art career. However, cooking and developing recipes naturally became a passion of mine as I watched and helped my mother and grandmother fix delicious foods all the time, Having that culinary knowledge and learning digital photography in college created a freeing playground for me to experiment without limitations as I designed food scenes for my photography assignments. What fired me up was when my one of my college art professors, Anna, noted that my food photographs were more captivating than the landscape and portrait photography I had included.

And so, I started on the path of food photography way before I knew it was a thing or better yet – make it my thing. I continued to hone in on my craft after graduating in 2016 by doing countless research, studying, practicing, getting frustrated when things didn’t workout and so much more. But when I look back, I can confidently say that I would do it all over again if I had to and the only thing I would have changed is my attitude of intention. Being an artist means more than creating something beautiful; it means showing up when I do not feel like it and being intentional about it at all times.

I love being a food photographer to realize the visions of clients and the ability to use my passion for cooking to teach millennials how to level up their culinary game. I love that I have the support of my family, friends and mentors to encourage me to keep going in my creative journey.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Being an artist takes a lot of risk. Not only financially, because in all honesty, I didn’t know how I would ever make a living doing what I love to do as a food photographer, but this risk affected the way I used my time both actively and passively. Many don’t get to see the fruits of being a hardworking artist because they check out too soon due to unrealistic expectations, comparison and life’s challenges. It’s not easy, however, I realize that it’s the instinctual decisions I make to help make the journey worthwhile and enjoyable. Those things may include reading a book, taking a course to master my craft, or just taking a step forward with an idea to see what soars from it.

When I decided to turn my craft into a professional career, I did not know the right thing to do. When I started on this path, I liked taking pictures of my meals every now and then for fun but at some point, I was not satisfied with the lighting, surface, shiny objects and much more. So after some improvement, and finding virtual experts in this field, I considered a plethora of creative outlets like a blog or Youtube to share my passion for cooking and photography. Although I started a blog, it only lasted for a few months but I continued to seek more knowledge about my craft by learning about different cooking styles from cooking shows, watching Youtube tutorials on food photography, filming, and communication styles.

Though I was doing my best to grow creatively, I almost gave up on the journey and started to consider a career in nursing or graphic design because I was doing all of this on my own, burning out and discouraged when many did not understand what I was trying to do. But, in the Spring/Summer of 2020 during the onset of the pandemic and social unrest, I decided to write and publish my first cookbook “Let’s Have G’Food”, which took about 5 months. It was quite a painful yet joyful process because I wore many hats during the entire process from editing, photographing, making it accessible to my audience and everything. Because of this intentional decision, I have been able to attract many opportunities requiring food photography and culinary knowledge as well as working with amazing clients and organizations.

Aside from producing my first cookbook and sharing delectable images of my food creations on social media, I wanted to create a communal space to help culinary curious millennials level up their culinary game so they can confidently cook the foods they love to bring healing to their bodies. So, I embarked on setting up my Youtube channel where I share weekly cooking tutorials of delicious recipes from main meals to desserts and more and this activity truly fills me up with joy.

Building my brand is about true intentionality, community and unapologetic creativity. To anyone toying with the idea to make art a career, you can do it but it not for the faint of heart. Be motivated to explore and learn. Aim to specialize in your craft. But you will encounter many many setbacks because the path you are creating depends on the quality of how much you believe in yourself and your vision. Find the right community to help you water your garden as you help them water theirs. Stay focused and trust the process.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
This is a tough one because a few months after I moved to Chicago, the pandemic started and many places had to shut down but here we go:

I love exploring different places outside of the city so we would first make an order to eat some Ethiopian cuisine flare from Demera Restaurant, either a take out or delivered. Their lentil sambussas, which look like hand pies with the accompanying sauce are the best, together with Ye-Beg Wot which is lamb stew in berbere sauce. A little ride up up north, we’ll also explore the market place on Devon to visit different ethnic food stalls constituted of African, Mexican to Indian favorites and maybe get a few ingredients that we’ll use to cook something the following day or so.

For fun, Spin Chicago is a great spot to play ping pong, have a snack or meal and interact with new people. Since the main city is close by, exploring the Chicago Riverwalk would be fun as we watch the boats sailing on the river. We could also sign up for an architecture boat tour to learn and appreciate Chicago architecture and how the city’s history shaped it’s development,

Another beautiful trip would be to visit the Obama residence in Hyde Park which is a walk away from the Lake shore and lots of restaurants, stores, from food to fashions as well and the Metra line. Since I mentioned the Lake, another great activity would be to do a bike trip on the Lakefront Trail from the Southside to the Northside and after that, have a picnic and set off to giggle at the Chicago Laugh Factory. I could keep going on and on as there is so much to enjoy in Chicago and I am excited to continue seeing more of what this beautiful city has to offer.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Without a doubt my first shoutout goes to my mother! She is the real chef and I, as a little girl was always tiptoeing around the stove to see what she was cooking. I wanted to be the one stirring the pot, picking the leaves, washing the rice etc. I am grateful to her for allowing me to develop my own recipes whenever I had the chance to and she continues to cheer me on.

Another shoutout to my grandmother, whose way of cooking comes with good old stories that makes me appreciate my culture and the foods that characterize my culture. I am grateful for my siblings, aunt, supportive friends and my mentors who continue to encourage me, motivate me, and account for me on this wild ride. Most importantly, I am grateful to God for continuing to walk with me through out this process.

Website: https://www.creativephebe.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/creativephebe/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLeeWKmHPLklOCbPab8yS9g/videos

Image Credits
Phebean Davies