Hey. Long time, no write. I’m here. Sorta.

It’s Women’s History Month and I wanted to shine a spotlight on some badass female Philly chefs I admire.

Jennifer Zavala quickly comes to mind because she truly is fearless in and out of the kitchen. She’s innovative, brash, and risk-taking. What’s not to love about that?

She’s known as the “Tamale Queen” who ran an illegal tamale truck but is so much more than that.

She’s had death threats lobbed at her for making vegan meatballs in South Philly. (Stay tuned for a documentary about that!)

She’s been in the kitchens at El Camino Real, Xochitl, Amada, Will BYOB, and Farmer’s Cabinet just to name a few.

She’s on the cutting edge of cannabis cooking with Inphused Philly.

And yes, she was on Top Chef in the early days.

When she’s not cooking, she’s married with two kids and has a deep love of South Philly – often times reporting live as “Action News Jen” when some stuff is going down.

She’s heavily tattooed.

She’s a diehard Eagles fan.

These are just some of the reasons I admire Jen. She’s definitely one lady chef makin’ history in Philadelphia.

Salute, Chef Zavala!

“Well-behaved women rarely make history.”