Dine and Discover Queens: Ayana Chung - Cooking with Ayana

It’s “Dine and Discover Queens'' time! “Dine and Discover Queens” is a spotlight on some of the best food options from around the borough!  

In this issue, we are featuring Cooking with Ayana LLC, a company offering catering and cooking classes focused on healthy cuisine and Southern and Caribbean flavors. Ayana Chung is the owner of the company. To learn more, go to https://www.cookingwithayana.com/. 

What inspired the creation of your business, and how did you get your start?

I began my business in January 2017 as a deeply personal restoration project, using the therapeutic aspects of cooking to heal myself through non-traditional means. This process became the foundation for Cooking With Ayana LLC, which I formally established in October 2018. My business promotes community healing and cultural heritage preservation, spearheading efforts to honor the pioneers of beloved diasporic soul food cuisine. Through my work, I aim to recreate year-round opportunities for connection at my dinner table, where guests are treated as family, and love is always at the center. 

Are there dishes or drinks that you specialize in that you would like to highlight? 

My Five Cheese Macaroni and Cheese is a signature dish, along with my specialty wings: Yanique (custom BBQ sauce wings) and Yanilo (buffalo/hot wings), both play on my name. For upcoming events, I’ll also be serving pulled BBQ chicken and chopped BBQ, as well as my smoky “Geeche Greens”—collard greens inspired by my ancestors from the Carolinas. 

What are you most proud of as a business owner? 

As a business owner, I am most proud of how Cooking with Ayana LLC reflects my personal journey and my unwavering tenacity. They say, “entrepreneurship ain’t for the weak,” and after persevering as a solopreneur for eight years, I can wholeheartedly attest to that. My business was born out of my lived experiences as a foster youth transitioning out of foster care, and I became an activist for child welfare reform. I noticed the lack of emphasis on life skills like cooking and budgeting, and saw the negative impact improper allocation of funds could have on health. That realization inspired me to take action.