Southface Institute : Speakers : Visionary Dinner : Deborah VanTrece
Deborah VanTrece
Chef Deborah VanTrece doubles as one of Atlanta's hottest chef personalities, creative
director and owner of Twisted Soul Cookhouse & Pours in West Midtown Atlanta and The
Catering Company by VanTrece. In March 2021, Chef VanTrece added published author to
her list of accolades with the release of The Twisted Soul Cookbook: Modern Soul with
Global Flavors (Rizzoli).
Chef VanTrece has been featured on the TODAY Show, The Rachel Ray Show, New York
Times, Bon Appetit, Food & Wine, NPR, Food Network, Cooking Channel, Conde Nast
Traveler, American Way, HuffPost, and Buzzfeed, among others.
Prior to embarking on her culinary career more than 20 years ago, VanTrece was a flight
attendant for American Airlines, where her travels took her to destinations throughout
Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia.
Her travels had a profound influence on her culinary style, which she describes as modern
global soul food.
The intersection of food and culture is at the heart of VanTrece's cuisine, which features
creative modern interpretations and global influences on traditional southern soul food.
Her childhood and her international travel have had the most significant influence on her
career and has helped her define her unique vision of modern global soul food.
"Every culture has its own version of soul food," explains Chef VanTrece. "A lot of people
associate soul food with the rural south, and that's definitely where its roots are. But what I
have learned traveling the world is that the things we eat and share are the things that bring
us together. Bringing people together in the spirit of fellowship has always been at the heart
of soul food, and the menu at Twisted Soul reflects this philosophy."