Today we’d like to introduce you to Jenelle Johnson.
Hi Jenelle, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
It started with me craving something different in my life, and within my health and wellness. I was sick of myself to be honest with you. I was overweight & battling depression and anxiety so I set out on a journey to heal myself.
2 years prior to starting this journey an old friend of mine had me watch Forks over knives. I was shocked at where our food was sourced from. I just knew after watching that documentary I was done with consuming animal products. However the change did not happen right away. It wasn’t until 2 years later I was sick and tired of being sick and tired.
So at first I decided to become a pescatarian since I loved fish so much. And since I had tried every other diet out there why not. Then I researched the harsh effects of sea life. I said to myself nope if you’re going to do this do it with your full chest.
So I went on this vegan journey. The first weeks of transitioning were the worse but obviously I survived and my body started to level out along with my hormones. I started to feel peace and not chaos in my body. Even the way people especially strangers approached was different it was if they could feel the glow or the life I was now consuming.
What’s funny is at the time, this was in 2017 there were very few vegan brands on the shelf so guess what, I had to cook most of my meals. Knowing only how to cook a few good meals was quite the challenge but I was up for it. The Sagittarius in me was up for a good self competition lol.
So I’m on this journey and I’ve committed myself to this new lifestyle which was supposed to be for 30 days now here we are 10 years later go figure. Any who after work I would practice cooking new dishes everyday, I was constantly trying out new smoothie recipes and juices. I deep dived into holistic living. This was my job now to learn to nourish in a new way I had only been taught micro pieces of. Having lived in LA, I mean you knew what veganism/vegetarian was but you just didn’t know how it looked in your own life(style).
Having access to spaces like Instagram, Facebook and oh the holy grail of Pinterest I soon became a pro at mastering what was on my plate. I started out eating a lot of processed vegan foods, then I went raw vegan for a bit, even alkaline to solely plant based. These days I like to say I live a high raw/ low cooked lifestyle and I make sure I do intermittent fasting weekly. This is what I love about the lifestyle you can choose your own path and still reap the benefits.
So fast forward I’m creating my own dishes, creating just about everything from scratch. A friend said to me one day you know you can make your own cheeses from scratch right. So ever since then I stopped buying vegan cheeses and starting making my own and that changed the game for me. I started making cashew cheeses and they became the star of most of my dishes.
What I came to realize is that just about anything can be made vegan (most things start already as vegan) and when you really break it down whether one admits this or not but we all love the taste of fruits and veggies. We feel better when we consume these foods as well. So it’s a win win.
Ok so now I’ve now created this sanctuary in my kitchen. My new ritual is nourishment in the kitchen. I’m feeling good, I now have autonomy over what I put on my plate or in my bowl, my anxiety, depression is subsiding, practically nonexistent. The weight is just falling off, my IBS is gone and my hair is growing like crazy. I couldn’t be happier except for me living in a really extremely cold environment like Chicago at the time.
So in 2018 my family and I decide to relocate to Dallas, TX. Once I arrived I decided to join the farmers markets to sell my cashew cheese. I don’t remember who it was at the time but this individual found out I could cook. They suggested I start bringing food to the farmers market and so I did. I met some great folks at the market. Unfortunately the market wasn’t enough to sustain me. So I bounced in/out of the farmers market and local popups however burn out set it for me. I was trying to find my groove in this Vegan market. Especially in one of the hardest spaces to be in Texas. A space where veggies are just a side dish, an afterthought if included at all.
So after leaving the market I would take on a few clients for meal prep, or catering jobs here and there. I also started shipping some of my products. At the time I became really fond of Cacao (the original chocolate). Cacao became my meditation in a cup no lie. I fell in love with her so much I decided to start selling her. After that I wanted a deeper understanding of her. So I became a Cacao Facilitator. Cacao became my place of peace, and through it’s plant benefits for overall health and longevity I was sold.
Not to long after that someone introduced to what we become my next training. Sensual somatic movement. A tool to move trauma out of the body and return to the body through slow, controlled movement, breath, stillness, and sensory awareness and self expression. It was such a beautiful journey to be a student in this space. Anyone who knows me knows I love to dance and now to learn to dance and move with intention was even more beautiful to add to my healing space.
So as I moved along in my journey I decided to heal a little deeper stepping away from chef life but still posting my meals which became very nourishing for me. Using the tools of cacao, somatic movement and my nourishment was a huge support here. It actually allowed me to see how important it is for one to have a ritualized life. Whether that be slow mornings, making a cup of tea, a nourishing bowl of fruit or going for a brisk walk. These are vital tools that could be used at the start your day and you show up in the world. It was at this point my brand started to shift into Sensual Rituals. A slow ritualized nourishing lifestyle.
So now that I have created these nonnegotiable rituals in my life and posting about them online. I am seeing the shift within me. I am seeing the shift within my food. Everything became a sensual ritual. It became slow, it became sensory awareness. What I mean by that is I started truly honing in on the crackles, the hissing of the steam, the placement of where drizzles landed on the food or even the spatters it made. I payed deep attention to smearing my bowls with cheese. It was where I formed a deeper relationship with presence and what stillness meant around my nourishment. The kitchen was not only my sanctuary it became my blank canvas and I was the muse being used for inspiration. It was a beautiful evolution. 10 years ago you could not have told me I would be here lol.
So yes this 10 year journey has been my way back to myself, back to my creativity. It has been my healing journey on and off social media. I learned to love cooking, plating, presence with my food. More importantly I learned to have a healthier relationship with my food. I learned to see myself in the food and learned to connect back to the root, the source of it all.
So I coined myself the Sensual Shef because I was able to enmesh my love for these plants, art and even music into something that had grown even bigger than me. And that was just the beginning.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
As a black women vegan brand no it has not been easy but I like to say what is. I am growing a brand in the heart of Texas. Change is slow here. They like what they have been accustomed to. Creating dishes that only contain plants shocks is very many here.
However I could be in a lot of other cities thriving with my offerings but I know the Universe has me here for a higher purpose. So I continue to show up, take the L’s as they come for I know my road is already paved for me. I have been saved from my bad habits and blessed to be a Pilar in the Health and Wellness Movement. Change is hard for many and attempting to change the trajectory of how we been operating is going to take time, patience and consistency. I offer what some have never experienced or seen before so at times some are all in and others are hesitant but everyone is curious lol.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a Plant based Shef, a food artist, a food brand, a cacao facilitator and a sensual somatic movement facilitator. I create intimate dining experiences around food, sensory, presence and play. My soul mission is to get you to connect to your food. To become one with your nourishment. To allow presence to be what’s on your plate and for you to have a relationship within the kitchen. So many of us are overstimulated and doom scrolling while eating. We are choosing conveniences over real nourishment and not mindfully consuming or digesting our food properly. When we lock into that moment over our food, we allow our sensory to be our guide through (taste, smell, touch, sound, and texture). This changes the experience entirely it even changes how our food taste.
Through this ritual we improve digestion, we allow our nervous systems to rest, we start to heal emotional traumas around food. We should have never told kids to stop playing with their food. That caused a huge disconnection within a lot of us. We also increase pleasure through these practices. I myself become aroused at watching how certain foods collide and infused with one another. We have a deeper connection to the body and hunger pains. We become present within ourselves and others around us. I always like to say your relationship with your nourishment is the most intimate one you may ever have.
I am known for being sensual with my food, seeing myself in the dishes I create. The self love and the discipline to my overall wellness. I always do my best to make something as healthy as it can be. I love sourcing quality plants and fruits to create my dishes with. I am extremely passionate about this lifestyle I am not someone out here promoting a plant based lifestyle or a product that I do not actually live by. This is my real life. I joke a lot but I am very serious about how this lifestyle healed me from a lot of toxicity.
I create intimate experiences around food. My food is created for everyone (vegan or not). I also offer sensory meditative lunch experiences for retreats, wellness spaces or corporate settings, small groups or even private 1:1. I am set to launch my food art installations, my cookbook, and I also have a cacao nonalcoholic line and oh yes the cashew cheese well she makes a few guest appearances from time to time lol.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
I say definitely try to align with someone who is in the same space as yourself. Mentors don’t have to older or seasoned they can even be your peers. We all have knowledge to share. I mentor a beautiful young lady and through her I have met some amazing connections in the plant based/holistic world. She even mentors me from time to time.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.sensualrituals.me
- Instagram: The_sensual_shef
- Youtube: The Sensual Shef
