Early fall is one of the best times to be a cook. The farmers markets are still full of summer crops like tomatoes, green beans, cucumber and sweet corn — and fall favorites like apples, sweet potatoes and squash are just arriving.  

For chef LaChelle Cunningham, the harvest sparks her imagination. It’s where healthy and flavorful meals start.  

Cunningham has been sharing her culinary creativity with the Twin Cities for more than twenty years, ever since friends and family started raving about the dishes she brought to potlucks inspired by the culinary traditions of Black Americans.  

In 2012, she started her catering business, Chelles’ Kitchen. A few years later, she became founding executive chef at Breaking Bread Cafe in North Minneapolis, where she developed many of their signature dishes, including a version of her uncle’s sweet potato pie.   

Now Cunningham is expanding her mission to teach and support other food entrepreneurs through her latest venture, Healthy Roots Institute. 

MPR News host Angela Davis talks with Cunningham about improvising with the fall harvest and where food intersects with social justice.   

Guest:  

• LaChelle Cunningham is the founder of Chelles’ Kitchen catering and the Healthy Roots Institute, which offers education, culinary training and certification, business training and ongoing professional support for food entrepreneurs and businesses. She is also interim director of Frogtown Farm in St. Paul. Find all her classes and events here.