How R&B Star Kelis Launched a Culinary Empire
The song “Milkshake” made her famous, and these days, the Airbnb Experience host and cookbook author is whipping up edible treats as well.
By Patti Greco
Ten years ago, if you’d asked Kelis what it was like to live on a farm in Southern California, she’d have assumed you had her confused with somebody else. And yet, now the “Milkshake” singer is a trained chef, author of the cookbook My Life on a Plate, founder of sustainable sauce brand Bounty & Full, Airbnb Experience host (she taught a cooking workshop in 2018), and co-owner of the aforementioned farm. “I can’t fathom being anywhere else,” says Kelis, who also co-owns a farm in Colombia’s Quindío province. Below, the musician-slash-saucier discusses finessing flavors and expanding her creative horizons.
You studied at Le Cordon Bleu, one of the most competitive culinary schools in the world. Why that route?
I’m an extremist by nature, so I’m all the way in or I’m not interested at all. I already knew that people were going to try to undermine or discredit me just because I’m coming from the outside. And I want to be taken seriously. So the best way to do that is to put your time in.
Is juggling two creative fields a challenge? Can you be great at two things?
I think it takes a lifetime to answer that question. The reason I can do both right now is because I spent time in my life where I was only focused on one. I studied theory. I played instruments. I’ve been on tour for years. Music is part of the fibers of who I am. So now I can say, let me go to school for something else and learn. I paid my dues so much in one field that I can pick up something else and give it 100 percent. I’m adding to my already existing being, as opposed to splitting myself in half and being only half-good at two different things.
When it comes to making sauces, where does the creative process begin?
I think about flavors and vibe and culture. Also, balance is so, so prevalent in food, whereas in music I don’t think it has to be. One of the things I think about most with food is the balance and quality of the ingredients — what their powers are, basically. With music, it’s about a feeling or a thought and what emotion that can evoke. Food obviously evokes emotion, too, but the balance is more important. There is a right and wrong answer, whereas with music I don’t really think there is.
How do you reach that balance? Is it a matter of constant tasting?
It’s more about knowing the ingredients — what you’re dealing with and what they bring. I think smell and texture are as important as taste. Or the stage the ingredient’s in in its life cycle. What are you looking for from this ingredient? You take a tomato — if you get it in the very beginning, it might not be ripe enough, but depending on what you need, it might be perfect.
Has taking on an entirely new career inspired you to keep trying other things?
A hundred percent. When you start off at something, that’s how people see you. It’s not like you can go to a different city or country and be like, “Ta-da, I’m this new person!” They’re like, nope, this is how we know you. So to be able to say, not only can I learn something else, but I’m able to thrive at something completely different…that says a lot about who you are. You learn so much about yourself when you learn a new craft. I’ve always loved cooking, but going to school really changed my life. Even if I never did anything with it. Just for me to be able to say, “I like working hard. I love the feeling of my brain understanding new things and questioning new things and seeing myself in a new space,” and what that does to the blood flow. It’s really changed my outlook on myself and my quality of life.
About the author: Patti Greco is a freelance writer and editor. She was previously the digital entertainment director at Cosmopolitan and a staff editor at New York Magazine.
