Owner of restaurant at famous ‘Friends’ location is tired of ‘annoying’ tourists
October 20, 2019
Alex Guarnaschelli’s Right-Hand Man
October 20, 2019
Lasheeda Perry has always had a passion for culinary arts and competition, and luckily for her, this love has materialized into a rewarding and ‘sweet’ career.
A creative force in the kitchen, Lasheeda Perry leads the pastry team as their Executive Pastry Chef at Four Seasons Hotel Atlanta and oversees the hotel’s desserts for their two dining outlets, all banquets and private events, weddings, room service, chef tastings and off-site events. Lasheeda has become a valued member of the Four Seasons Hotel & Resorts culinary team, sharing her pastry skills in Dallas, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Lanai, Silicon Valley, and now, Atlanta.
This is the second year in a row that a C-CAP Alum has made it to the Finals of Food Network’s BEST BAKER IN AMERICA. Thiago Silva, last year and this season it was Lasheeda’s turn. I watched the stellar performance from this pastry chef extraordinaire as she battled it out especially during the final episode, although she didn’t take home the title, the judges crowned her “The Queen of Flavor.”
Get Lahseeda’s recipe for this beautiful Coconut Tres Leches dessert in the new cookbook Toques In Black. Available now!
“Being a twin, I feel as though I was born to be competitive…no matter what, while competing, I like to take risks, work hard and most importantly, have fun,” says Lasheeda.
On July 29, Lasheeda will be participating in PeachFest, a peach-centered food festival that promotes the initiatives of responsible agriculture, hospitality, and technology alongside delicious preparations of Georgia-grown products. All proceeds from the event will benefit Piggy Bank, a start-up farm that serves as a Kickstarter to emerging family farms. PeachFest has also teamed up with Concrete Jungle to plant more peach trees in Atlanta. Concrete Jungle is a volunteer-run organization that helps distribute neglected fruit to Atlanta’s hungry. Lasheeda will represent Four Seasons Hotel Atlanta and will be making a peach-inspired dish for over 600 attendees.
Lasheeda Perry is a case study in resilience. Born to a single mother with eight children and an absent father, Lasheeda’s childhood, in her own words, “was filled with drugs, sex, and poverty.” She lived with a succession of relatives. Eventually, she ended up in a shelter. After years of misfortune, Lasheeda got two crucial breaks that helped her realize her own intelligence and tenacity: “My culinary arts teacher at Frankford High School, Wilma Stephenson, took me under her wing – and she introduced me to C-CAP,” she explains. Unfortunately, Lasheeda’s mother took ill forcing both her and her twin sister, Mareeda to obtain a full-time job to supplement the income. The twins became each other’s emotional support.
This is where C-CAP made all the difference. Fast-forward to her graduation from high school in 2004—as valedictorian of her class. Lasheeda Perry received a four-year full-tuition scholarship from C-CAP to attend Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island. “That was the beginning for me,” she explains. “Thanks to C-CAP, Chef Joseph Poon, Joseph Poon Chef Kitchen, I boarded my very first flight to China. “While there, Chef Poon challenged me to take my […]
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