How Keio Gayden is training Atlanta’s next generation of culinary artists
Keio Gayden smiled brightly as she described the feeling of working with middle and high school students, some of whom were working behind her in the instructional kitchen at Redan High School.
Gayden oversees the teachers and students of 12 culinary programs in DeKalb County School District, as its Career, Technical and Agricultural Education instructional coordinator. As students prepared meals in large pots, pans and industrial ovens, her voice began to crack. “It becomes really heavy (emotionally) sometimes,” she said.
“I’m super proud that I was chosen to sit in this particular seat,” she continued, then apologized before pausing to wipe tears from her eyes.
The moment of emotion showed that for Gayden, it isn’t just professional. She feels personally connected to the work they’re all doing together.
“I work with some amazing educators,” Gayden said, with her hands clasped. “The support they provide for me allows me to be who I am and do this job with grace each and every day.”
Gayden, a native of Birmingham, Alabama, has been affiliated with culinary education at DeKalb County schools for 19 years. Before being promoted to countywide CTAE coordinator in February 2023, she spent 16 of those years teaching culinary arts at Miller Grove High School.
During her time at Miller Grove, she elevated the culinary arts program, helping gain accreditation from the American Culinary Federation Education Foundation in 2009, 2012 and 2017. Miller Grove achieved ACFEF Exemplary Status in 2021, which is the highest national recognition secondary culinary programs can achieve.
A professionally trained chef, Gayden studied culinary arts at Johnson & Wales University and has degrees in education from Georgia State and Liberty universities. Her passion for food came from family matriarchs who loved to cook. She described herself growing up being “in the way” in the kitchen, until convincing her mother at age 10 she was ready to handle the heat.
After preparing her first meal and impressing her mom, she was invited to help more frequently.
“It pretty much opened that door for me to see the power of food,” she said, “bringing our families together around the dinner table, the conversations, and how it empowers the love our families share every time we come together around food.”
In her current role, Gayden supports culinary arts programs throughout the school district — along with family and consumer science and agricultural programs — across 19 high schools and eight middle schools. She oversees teacher development, program budgets, curriculum implementation and student workforce collaborations.
She has helped add two more culinary programs to DeKalb County schools since taking the job and led major improvements across the district, from equipment enhancements to industry certification readiness.
Still, it’s clear as she walks through Redan’s kitchen, observing students making empanadas from traditional Thanksgiving leftovers of turkey, dressing and cranberry sauce that she loves interacting directly with young adults and helping them sharpen their skills.
“When I was in the classroom I was bound to those roughly 150 students per year, but now I get to interact with hundreds and hundreds of students each and every day. Seeing their growth, development and dedication to something that is so dear to me speaks volumes.”
As of 2023, the most recent year for which the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement made data available online, 53% of all DeKalb high school graduates enrolled in college, university or technical college within one year of graduation.
Gayden said she feels responsible for helping build a hospitality pipeline for students into the world of culinary arts. One advantage students can receive from DeKalb’s programs is the chance to obtain ServSafe manager certifications, which verify they have sufficient knowledge of food safety.
Having the certification at 16 years old gives them significant credibility when applying to work in professional kitchens, Gayden said, particularly if they’re looking for leadership roles.
“Of course we want our students to go to four-year colleges and universities, but we also know that’s not the case for every single student. So being able to provide them with some skills and techniques and certifications that would allow them to graduate from high school and go straight into the industry, that is what this particular role that I sit in now is all about.”
Gayden also leverages relationships to create experiences and opportunities for DeKalb students. She’s created and coordinated their involvement in Flavors of DeKalb, cooking and skill competitions, culinary camps for chefs-in-training and other events.
She also has graduates already working in Atlanta restaurants, including Samara Brown, who is part of chef Duane Nutter’s kitchen staff at Southern National. “She has great work ethic and tons of potential,” Nutter said of Brown.
Auburn Angel chef and owner Robert Butts is a fan of Gayden’s. “Anything she needs from me, I have her,” he said.
Butts has visited DeKalb schools to interact with students in the culinary programs and said he offers his time and advice as a mentor after being impressed with what he’s seen.
“A lot of times, when we go into the world, we don’t really have a skill or a trade. Even if they don’t want to be in culinary, they at least have a skill set that they can back up to if they want to change directions. So it is making a difference overall with just the willingness to show them different things, because I have never seen a group of kids so excited about cooking.”
As he worked on a turkey stew, Zaiére Chattman, a senior at Redan, said he’s learning more than just cooking skills, including collaboration, patience and communication.
“It’s a lot of life lessons,” Zaiére said. “Miscommunication in the kitchen, that’s what you don’t want.”
Next to Zaiére in the kitchen, preparing a sweet potato souffle, stood fellow senior Aniya Leigertwood. The daughter of a chef, she said she’s considering following his lead after two years in the program and has already started a small catering business, but is leaning toward food science.
“It’s helping me with cross-contamination, making sure the temperatures are right for everything, how long stuff is supposed to be in the oven.”
Aniya said in addition to culinary knife skills, she’s learned the importance of problem-solving, reading and thinking for herself. “Actually not looking on ChatGPT for things,” she said.
The growth of Gayden’s programs and the engagement from students tells her that local interest in food and beverage careers is increasing.
“That lets us know the need and the demand is there from our students. They’re asking for these programs,” she said.
Tuqwon C. Taylor, Redan High School’s principal, worked previously with Gayden and spoke highly of her support over time.
“Previously, I was a middle school principal (at Ronald McNair Middle School) and had a culinary arts program within the same district. Chef Keio was great, supported my teachers, supported the kids in the program. Here at the high school, she’s been even better,” he said, calling out her consistency in communicating with the school and responding to its needs.
“She’s been key to our culinary arts program growing, and not only the program, but our students.”
Chef Frank Wells IV has been the culinary instructor at Redan High School for almost three years. Wells is a New Orleans native who graduated from Stone Mountain High School.
Gayden helped Wells land his job, mentoring him after he reached out to her through social media to introduce himself and learn more about teaching culinary arts. Wells basks in Gayden’s praise and confidence. “I take pride in it because I feel I’m soaring in my role now,” he said.
She credits the journey of seeing him blossom as an educator as part of what motivates her. “It let me know my ‘why’,” she said, adding that working with youth and embracing her passion for food keeps her smiling brightly no matter how heavy the responsibility may feel.
“Being able to combine the two things … it just makes every day easy,” she said.
About the Author
Mike Jordan is senior editor at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Black culture brand, UATL. A longtime culture journalist, his work has been published in The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, National Geographic, Rolling Stone and others. Jordan won the James Beard Foundation’s 2024 Jonathan Gold Local Voice Award and was a 2023 finalist.
