We’re dropping episode 202 today, and it features a conversation with chef, restaurateur, educator, advocate, mother, and life-long NEOKC resident Chaya Pennington. At 47, her career in hospitality now spans 30 years, and she’s worked pretty much every role in restaurants. Now as the Culinary Coordinator for MetroTech, she oversees the education of our future chefs, pastry chefs, managers, and operators. I wrote about her for Luxiere magazine last year, and this excerpt helps sum up a little about her before you listen:

Photo by Lexi Hoebing

“Pennington is the daughter, granddaughter, great-granddaughter, etc., of generations of educators and chefs. In her role as bar owner, restaurant professional and culinary coordinator at Metro Tech, she represents both sides in the nature vs. nurture argument — and at 45, she said she still hasn’t decided if she’s committed to a career in food.

She catered her first event at 13, helping her teacher mother who had a side gig as a party bartender. From that point on, the opportunities seemed to line up in a way that lit a path straight to hospitality. There were early jobs with two large companies well-known at the time — Dub Adams Catering and Harry’s Gourmet To Go — but things really began to gel when Chef Kurt Fleischfresser invited her to be a part of his Coach House apprenticeship program, a structured education that eventually graduated 45 trained chefs.

As for her accomplishments, Pennington has a surprising list of what she’s most proud. ‘I’m a third generation East Side resident,’ she says. ‘I grew up here, went to school here, raised my family here, am an educator here, own a business here. It’s a point of pride. It’s critical to invest in the community you want to be a part of, point of origin or not. I’m proud of that failed business (Urban Roots) because we go into every opportunity undercapitalized, but we do it anyway because we love our community.’”