The Roanoker - November/December 2020 - 47

As Snyder researched her own nutritional choices,
she was quietly tapping into a broader conversation
happening all over the world ... one that increasingly
convinced her to give veganism a go.
She didn't know it yet, but the shift was about
to change her body ... and her career.

A Bold Transition
"When I decided to go vegan, I just cut it all off,"
Snyder remembers.
The cold-tofurkey approach was brave. But she
quickly realized that veganism wasn't going to
stick unless she could figure out how to veganize
the foods she loved most.
"Ethiopia food, Eritrean food, it's rich in
spices and flavors - it's something I'm extremely
passionate about," says Snyder. "I said, I need to
learn how to cook good stuff so I can be happy."
So she threw herself into adapting her
favorite recipes, visiting store after store for new
ingredients and experimenting until she ended
up with a slew of crave-worthy meatless meals.
"Chickpea curries, jerk jackfruit ... Delicious
comfort food. I was like, if I can do this, then
shoo, go ahead," she recalls.
As Snyder began to shed pounds, she gained
energy and confidence, and her friends and gym
buddies took notice. The next thing she knew,
they were asking for help in going vegan ... and
requesting that she'd meal-prep for them, too.
It was through that homegrown, word-ofmouth model that Queen's Vegan Café was
born... a fact that Snyder says still humbles her.
"Obviously," she says, "losing weight was good.
But the thing that stuck with me the most was
when my peers would come to me and say I was
a motivation ... that they would never have tried
a vegan meal if it wasn't for me... It's weird when
I think about it."

Educating a Community
S oon, S nyder was per f or ming cooking
demonstrations at farmers markets, churches and
community centers. A woman on a mission, she
wanted her community to know two things: first,
they didn't have to accept the unhealthy eating
habits they'd been taught. And second, vegan food
could, in fact, be sinfully delicious.
"You can talk and talk all you want, but if
[people] don't visually see it and taste it and
experience it, then you're just talking to a wall,"
Snyder says. "You don't have to sacrifice flavor for
good health."

TheRoanoker.com

Decadent
Love Loaf
Searching for a meatless holiday
recipe that even omnivores will
enjoy? Whether you're feeding
a vegan guest for Thanksgiving
dinner or just hankering to try an
adventurous new dish, this savory
chestnut loaf - which can be
sliced like meatloaf and slathered
with mushroom-and-onion gravy -
is laced with all the rich, nostalgic
flavors of the season. Recipe by
Shaqueena "Chef Queen" Snyder.
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2 ½ cups mixed nuts
1 ¼ cups cooked
chestnuts
1 white onion, diced
2 fresh thyme stalks
1 tablespoon veggie
bouillon
2 celery stalks, diced
1 cup shredded carrots
4 garlic cloves, minced
¼ cup dairy-free milk
2 tablespoons fresh
basil, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh
parsley, chopped
Sea salt and pepper to
taste

Pulse mixed nuts in blender or
food processor until very small
chunks form. Then pulse chestnuts
separately until slightly fine.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large dutch oven or pan,
sauté onions in oil on medium heat
until soft. Combine all ingredients
together in hot pan. Mix and mash
together until mixture becomes
thick. Transfer to an oiled bread
pan, pressing down firmly to help
cohere, and bake for 30 minutes or
until golden brown.
Let cool completely; then enjoy.
Pro tip! Top with mushroom gravy.

These days, "Chef Queen"
ABOVE:
does brisk business as crown
Chef Queen's herbal
regent at the Royal House of teas, cleansing juices
and Royal Black
Vegan: at-home consulting,
Bean Burgers are a
personal meal-prepping, private
hit with her regular
customers.
catering, and pop-up cooking
events. She also sells her Royal
Black Bean Patties, herbal teas and mason jar
smoothies at the West End Farmers Market.
She attributes her ability to handle the demand
to skills gained in a culinary training program at
the Community Solutions Center in Northwest
Roanoke, run by Feeding SWVA.
"I met some amazing people there, and it helped
me sharpen my craft, learn how to bulk cook," she
says.
But perhaps the most surprising lesson she's
learned is how enthusiastic folks can be about her
food ... even if they aren't committed vegans.
Take Donna Brown, for example. While Brown
isn't vegan herself, she's tried Chef Queen's threeday and 21-day cleanses, showed up for black bean
burgers at pop-up events and even ordered special
vegan plates for Thanksgiving.
"Everything she does is truthfully bursting with
flavor," says Brown. "Her macaroni-and-'cheese?'
You'd swear up and down it's cheese, right from your
grandmother's oven on Thanksgiving Day!"
And it's just that mentality - the idea that great
vegan food isn't just for vegans - that Chef Queen
wants to share with the community.
"You don't have to go completely vegan if you
don't want to," she says, stressing that even a partial
adoption of the lifestyle achieves positive health
results. "Incorporating meatless Mondays, additional
vegan days and vegan nights, increasing your veggie
intake... I'm encouraging people: if I can do it, you
can do it."
To find out more about Chef Queen's catering,
consulting and pop-up events, visit her website at
royalhouseofvegan.com, or like her Facebook page
at facebook.com/royalhouseofvegan. I

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020

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The Roanoker - November/December 2020

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