Aug 31st, Q Ibraheem

Apply the traits of a child from a Jewish mother fused with Middle Eastern teachings to a Black woman in the Midwest…and you’d get Chef Q. Ibraheem. Culinary school was a farm in Georgia, a chair to stand on over the stove top while taught recipes in her mother’s kitchen and her father’s halal poultry shop in Detroit’s Eastern Market, America’s largest farmers market.

Chef Q’s hospitality career began immediately after high school in Greek restaurants where she began in front of house. Determined to cook, she applied (and was accepted) for a culinary apprenticeship with a Food Network chef. She has traveled through the restaurant scenes in Detroit, Atlanta, and Chicago where she scored a position at Michelin-starred Elizabeth; when this limited-time opportunity ended, Chef moved quickly to another kitchen to work as an executive sous chef. After acquiring the skills for training staff that became kitchen teams, she became an executive chef and corporate executive chef at P.S. It’s Social, a restaurant training program for ex-offenders and at-risk young adults.

From these beginnings, Chef Q Ibraheem continues to develop unique ways to impact her community. She applies her recognized culinary skills to foster connections between people, to teach the value of cuisine as a source for bonding and for positive change. She works in three arenas to build connections between people through taste, shared experiences, culture, and memories.

As an Artist, Chef provides unique culinary experiences through her underground dining, catering, and private dining services. As an Educator, she provides in-school, after-school, camps, and university curricula designed to teach farm to fork principles while creating lasting memories for her students. As an Advocate, she combines local suppliers and creative culinary skills to serve people in need, providing nutritional meals while building a sense of community and helping those who need it most during the pandemic.