MILWAUKEE — "Nobody can take anything away from you that's meant for you."
Those are words chef Adjoya 'Joya' Courtney religiously lives by as her culinary career continues to grow by the second.
"I'm grateful, I'm blessed, it's definitely surreal," said Chef Joya.
The celebrity vegan chef has more than 100,000 followers on Facebook, 27,000 subscribers on her Youtube channel, and almost 130,000 followers on Instagram. She uses those social media platforms to teach people how to make vegan meals.
"I like to focus on soul food, southern cuisine, and African and Caribbean cuisine."
She says her love for cooking began when she was a little girl growing up in Milwaukee watching her grandmother make meals in the kitchen.
"I would always help her and I would always be in the kitchen with her," she explained.
Over time, Joya, who grew up vegan, learned how to create vegan meals that were not only healthy but delicious. And in 2018, her cooking career took off.
"I kept hearing being vegan is nasty, it's bland, it's this, that, and the other, and I'm like what kind of food are they eating," said Joya. "My thought process was just to give people free recipes for 30 days, teach them how to make them, show pictures, and that just took off."
Since then, Chef Joya has competed on the Food Network, written four cookbooks, and launched her ownseasoning line.
"I'm always creating, I'm always passionate about everything that I do."
That's why she says it was a no-brainer when she was asked to be the keynote speaker at the 11th annual MKE Business Now Entrepreneurship Summit. It's a free program for Milwaukee entrepreneurs at any level looking to network and learn what it takes to become successful business owners.
"I was not on the straight and narrow path. I had a lot of ups and downs, sideways, around the corners, but I still have a success story," said Joya.
And by sharing her story, she hopes others will be inspired to take a chance on themselves.
"By the time I'm done talking, I want everyone to feel like I can do it, I'm going to do it, it's going to happen."
The summit will take place on Saturday, Jan. 28 at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. School, beginning at 10 a.m. Chef Joya is scheduled to speak at 11 a.m.
