In the kitchen, chef Lachelle Cunningham brings food to life — transforming each dish into a celebration of flavor, history and culture. Her cooking is an experience, engaging the senses with sizzling aromas, vibrant colors, and rich textures.
“It’s about celebrating the ingredients,” she says, her voice lighting up with passion as she speaks. “You could take any one ingredient, but then you think about all the different cooking techniques — grilling, pickling, dehydrating. There are dozens of ways to bring a dish to life.”
Lachelle’s philosophy extends far beyond preparing meals — she honors the story of each ingredient, from its origins to the moment it hits the plate. For her, food is a gateway to remembering ancestral knowledge and wisdom.
“I’ve been foraging and doing herbalism for years,” she shares. “But now in the past two years since I’ve been running Frogtown Farm, I’ve been able to share what I know. I can really teach people what I know, but I also take those opportunities to touch base with community and see what they know. I’ve learned so much just from everyday people.”
Her love for food extends beyond its taste — it’s about honoring the experience, the people, and the land that nurtures it. Cooking for Lachelle is a chance to transform ingredients and community.
“Buy a chicken, eat it with sides the first day, then make a second dish — maybe chicken salad or tacos,” she advises. “On the third day, boil the bones and make soup. You could stretch one chicken to make four or five different dishes.” Her approach to sustainability in the kitchen is about maximizing resources, reducing waste, and making the most of every meal.
There is a commitment to sustainability that drives everything she does — whether it’s maximizing the use of a chicken in the kitchen or finding new ways to nurture the Earth. “People don’t realize how much food we waste.
“We’ve disconnected so much from it that we don’t even think about how we can use the scraps,” Lachelle reflects. By teaching her community to repurpose food and reduce waste, Lachelle is building a more sustainable and equitable food system.
This same respect for food follows her into her work as the head of Frogtown Farm in St. Paul. Here, Lachelle connects her culinary craft to the soil, grounding herself in the teachings of her ancestors while tending to the Earth. “That’s how I feel like I’m honoring and connecting with my ancestors — through nature, plants, understanding them,” Lachelle explains.
Her passion for farming is rooted in the deep history of African and Indigenous traditions, as she works to learn about the plants native to this land, the invasive species, and the knowledge her ancestors left behind.
“Some of my ancestors were African, some of them were Indigenous. And we’re not in Africa. We have different plants here, and I am really trying to understand these plants that we do have; which ones are native plants, which ones are invasive species.”
Cunningham’s ability to champion food leads into healing, educating, and reconnecting with the land in ways that empower the community. Through her foraging and farming, Lachelle is teaching others to honor the Earth while learning to grow food sustainably.
She’s reconnecting with the land but also with the people, using food to bridge generational gaps and create shared experiences. “I’ve been able to bring people into the farm and show them how to grow food and forage in their own communities,” she says.
Cunningham’s work empowers the people around her, teaching them how to cultivate the land, how to cook what they’ve grown, and how to make food an integral part of their lives.
This commitment to food justice is also at the heart of her advocacy work. Cunningham is a key member of the Metro Food Justice Network, a group dedicated to decentralizing power in the food system and ensuring equitable access to food for marginalized communities.
“I’m part of…a group dedicated to bringing justice to our food system and empowering communities,” she says, highlighting her focus on breaking down the barriers that prevent people of color from accessing healthy, culturally significant food.
The challenges she faces extend beyond growing crops or preparing meals; they involve shifting perspectives. “The biggest challenge is just people’s mindsets. They’ve been stuck in doing things a certain way,” she observes.
She remembers a woman who once explained that she couldn’t eat leftovers because of the trauma she experienced growing up. For Cunningham, cooking and eating are acts of healing, reclamation and empowerment, and she uses food to help others overcome the burdens of their past.
In March, Lachelle is also leading an event that celebrates Black women who have transformed their lives after incarceration, showcasing how food can play a role in personal transformation. “There’s gonna be a panel of Black women entrepreneurs who came out of incarceration, turned their lives around, and became successful businesswomen,” she says, underscoring how food and community can spark empowerment and positive change.
Through her work at Frogtown Farm, her cooking workshops, and her advocacy for food justice, Lachelle is creating spaces for people to reconnect with the land, their culture, and each other. For Cunningham, food is nourishment, an experience, and a way to honor the past while creating a more sustainable, equitable future.
With each meal prepared, each seed planted and each community engaged, Cunningham reminds us that food has the power to heal, connect and empower in ways that extend beyond the plate.
VEGAN BLACK-EYED PEA WAFFLES
Ingredients
2 Tbsp flaxseed meal (ground
raw flaxseed)
5 Tbsp water
1 ½ cup black-eyed pea flour*
1 ½ cup all-purpose flour (or
other desired flour)
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
4-6 tablespoons brown sugar
(adjust to your sweetness
preference)
3 cup milk (you can use dairy
or plant-based milk)
4 tablespoons coconut oil
melted (or other oil of choice)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
(optional)
Cooking spray or oil for
greasing the waffle iron
Maple Syrup for serving
*You can purchase Black-Eyed Pea Flour or create your own by pulverizing the Black-Eyed Peas into a fine powder using a blender, coffee/spice grinder or other food processors.
Preparation
Add flaxseed meal and water to a medium sized bowl and stir. Let rest for 5 minutes to thicken. Preheat your waffle iron according to its manufacturer’s
instructions.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together the black-eyed pea flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Add the milk, melted coconut oil (or other oil), and vanilla extract (if using) to the bowl with the flaxseed mixture, Mix well.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Stir until just combined. Don’t overmix. Lightly grease the waffle iron with cooking spray or a small amount of oil.
- Pour an appropriate amount of batter onto the preheated waffle iron, following the manufacturer’s Instructions.
- Close the waffle iron and cook until the waffles are golden brown and crisp, around 3-5 minutes.
- Serve your black-eyed pea waffles with your favorite toppings such as fresh fruit, maple syrup and whipped cream.
