Akasha Richmond From Yogi to Michael Jackson’s
Personal Chef
NOW: AKASHA restaurant/bar/bakery (Culver City, CA, since 2008)
THEN: Golden Temple vegetarian restaurant; private chef to Michael Jackson, Billy Bob Thornton and Barbra Streisand; caterer to Pierce Brosnan and other celebrities
MENTORS: I never had the opportunity to work under a really great chef who was my mentor. My mentors are cookbook authors like: Claudia Roden, Joan Nathan, the Jamisons. My other mentors are the investors in my restaurant, who taught me a lot about business and branding.
AGE: I’m in L.A. – no one talks about how old they are!
GREW UP: Miami and Hollywood, Florida
EDUCATION: I learned by reading books and all the traveling I did. I learned a lot going to markets in other countries.
FAVORITE RESTAURANTS: K-ZO; The Test Kitchen (closed) where they had different chefs come in every week; Rivera; Scarpetta; The Bazaar; WP24; Delfina (San Francisco); Chez Panisse (Berkeley) I like rustic, simple, delicious food – but I thought Alinea was one of the best meals I’ve ever had.
PUBS: Hollywood Dish: More than 150 Delicious, Healthy Recipes from Hollywood’s Chef to the Stars
LIMELIGHT: Access Hollywood, Entertainment Tonight
Chef Interview by Gayle Keck When did you start cooking?
I actually came to L.A. to study yoga, not to be a chef. The yoga teacher owned the Golden Temple restaurant, so I went to work there. Michael Jackson was a regular. One day, he asked me and a friend to start catering parties and doing din- ners for him. When you’re 23 years old and working in a restaurant, making $4.75 an hour and Michael Jackson asks you to cook, you’re kind of like, “Yeah!”
How long did you work for him?
I was Michael Jackson’s chef for 14 years, on and off. I did all the tours with him. I started meeting people in L.A. and Hollywood, working for a lot of celebrities. I did catering and consulting, too.
How was it working for celebrities?
The thing about celebrities that I love is they’re really fun, charismatic people and they’re creative and fun to work for – so I had a great time. Michael Jackson was one of the greatest people I’ve ever known. So much fun. So charismatic. Going all over the world with him – that was a great experience. I went to 34 countries with him! Then I worked for Barbra Streisand, too, and that was really fun.
She has a reputation for being very particular.
She loves really good food. Being a private chef, you have to enjoy what you’re cooking. If you’re working for someone like that, you have to like the kind of food they like. And you have
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