Founder and CEO of Inner City Kitchen:
Chef Crystal
Crystal Blanchette has had a passion for healthy cuisine from birth. Her mother a nurse and aunt a dietitian, healthy living has been instilled in her since childhood. Born in Los Angeles California, Crystal started her teenage career as an aspiring model but never turned her heart away from her true love of cooking. As a child Crystal cooked for the neighborhood kids using ingredients from her mother’s kitchen and fresh produce she would “borrow” from her neighbor’s garden, she also insists that the Taco Bell Mexican Pizza was her creation at the age of 12.
Crystal moved to San Diego after high school to attend college at San Diego State University and received a degree in Nutrition from the holistic extended health program. While in college Crystal decided one day to pack her bags and moved to San Francisco on her own to follow her passion for cooking and attended Culinary Arts at the CCA in San Francisco while simultaneously finishing up degree in Nutrition and working part time at a local homeless shelter.
After Graduating from the CCA in San Francisco Crystal opened a catering company with another CCA graduate and it blossomed, but Crystal wanted more. Crystal sold her part of the company and took a job working for the prestigious director George Lucas as the Assistant Catering Director for Lucas Films but once again it wasn’t enough.
Crystal received a call to come back to Los Angeles to work as a Private Chef to the Stars, being extremely humble she doesn‘t want to list her clients. Once again opportunity knocked when renowned Chef and Restaurateur Christopher Tunnell sold Crystal on the idea of working for him as his personal assistant. This new opportunity led Crystal to travel the world opening new restaurants and creating cuisine unlike any other. After two years Chef Tunnell encouraged Crystal to follow her dreams and utilize her Culinary and Nutritional skills to better her community by sharing Healthy Food knowledge within the inner city. Crystal chose to start cooking with youth because she knew that the inner city youth are becoming more susceptible to food related health disorders and it stems from lack of knowledge in our homes and communities. As her journey continues Chef Crystal has begun teaching classes to young single Mothers and transitional housing.
Inner City Kitchen began with a dream and became a reality on July 21st 2008 when Crystal got the call from a local after school program welcoming Inner City Kitchen as a student elective for high school students looking for extra credit. Today Inner City Kitchen looks forward to working with more of Los Angeles inner city youth and families.
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