Discover the Power of Learning
Simone Byron, Co-Founder
With over 20 years of experience, Chef Simone Byron has become one of the most sought-after entrepreneurs in hospitality workforce training and development. Her journey in the industry began as a work-based learning student in junior high school. She fell in love with cooking while under the tutelage of her late mother who was a culinary enthusiast and award-winning educator. Chef Byron’s family is deeply rooted in the history of culinary arts. Her great grandfather was the first African American caterer in The Bronx, NY and was also the Head Chef for Human Right’s Activist Marcus Garvey’s Black Star Line in the 1800’s. Inspired by this lineage of greatness and years of hard work and determination, Chef Byron completed her bachelor’s degree in Culinary Arts Management from the Art Institute of Atlanta.
While studying for her degree, she traveled abroad to Italy and Switzerland to broaden her scope in the industry. Graduating college as a single-mother, Chef Byron was then awarded a marketing internship with Disney Worldwide through the ESPN Zone of Atlanta. She later became a full-time employee and after 4 years with Disney, Chef Byron took on an opportunity with Compass Group. Amazingly she became the youngest catering manager in the company’s southeast region! After 2 years with Compass Group, she was promoted to Chef Manager and awarded manager of the year for exceptional leadership and management.
After 5 years with Compass Group, Chef Byron made a leap of faith into the education field, as a culinary arts instructor in Gwinnett County Public Schools. She managed to grow the program’s enrollment by 300% over a course of 3 years. Chef Byron coached several student culinary competitions and placed 7 times on the state level and twice at the national level. Chef Byron also headed the initiative for Meadowcreek Community Garden raising over $17,000 for the project through her student ran catering company, Creek Caterers. In 2016, Chef Byron’s community garden project was awarded the United Way SPARK Prize for $25,000 in grant money to further and sustain the project. In 2018, Chef Byron was awarded the Georgia ProStart Teacher of the Year and went on to win the National Educator of Excellence in Chicago, Illinois; the first ever for a Georgia educator.
After serving 9 years as an educator, Chef Simone Byron began her journey into entrepreneurship. She was appointed Executive Director of the Hospitality Education Foundation of Georgia. She now serves as ProStart Director for the State of Georgia under the Georgia Restaurant Association.She is also an Executive Board member of the elite international society of women hospitality entrepreneurs, Les Dames d’Escoffier; where she serves as Vice President of Philanthropy. She is most known however, as Founder and President of Navigate – a dynamic hospitality workforce development program targeting youth in low-income high-potential communities. Her diligent efforts with Navigate immediately lead to a corporate partnership with hospitality industry giants Compass Group and Thompson Hospitality. Navigate now functions in public schools providing students and teachers with culinary/hospitality training programs in both Atlanta, GA and Charlotte, North Carolina.
• 20 years hospitality experience
• 10+ years hospitality consulting experience
• Great granddaughter of Executive Chef for Human Right’s Activist Marcus Garvey’s
Black Star Line, New York City’s first black owned catering company
• Graduate, Art Institute of Atlanta - Culinary Arts Management
• 5 Years Compass Group Catering Manager; Eurest
• 10 Year Public School Culinary Educator
• United Way SPARK Prize Grant Recipient
• 2018 Georgia ProStart Teacher of the Year
• 2018 National Educator of Excellence Award recipient
• Georgia Restaurant Association ProStart Director
• Executive Board Member, Les Dames d’Escoffier; Vice President of Philanthropy.
• Public Private Partner workforce development liaison, Compass Group/Thompson Hospitality
Adeola Sokunbi, Co-Founder
As an accomplished sports, entertainment and hospitality maven, Adeola Sokunbi has proven within her career track that being brave enough to pivot opens up a world of opportunities. With early successes working for global brands like Warner Media (formally Turner Broadcasting Company), the PGA, The Coca-Cola Company during the 2012 London Olympic Games and Georgia’s highly ranked sports and entertainment complex, the Georgia World Congress Center Authority for almost a decade; Sokunbi has continued to build a reputation for contributing to and inspiring meaningful work that has produced millions of dollars and impacted millions of people.
She began to lay the foundations of her career while in college, where she worked in several restaurants in both front and back of house positions, developing skills in customer service, cost control, and employee training. After graduating from Georgia State University’s School of Hospitality, Adeola began overseeing contract negotiations for major festivals, concerts, and sporting events at iconic venues like Centennial Olympic Park, Georgia World Congress Center, and Mercedes Benz Stadium. Her work ethic, determination to be successful, and her skill to network with intention opened the doors for her to lend logistical expertise to marquee events such as the Men’s NCAA Final Four and Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta..
A lifelong learner, with managerial experience in executing major events under her belt, in 2019 Sokunbi decided to go through the arduous process of completing her certification through the International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM); becoming a certified venue professional (CVP).
While continuing to dive into the sports and entertainment space, Sokunbi also made time to pour into her love for cooking and creating community inspired by delicious meals. She launched the Yolaskitchen®️ Dinner Party series, where friends, family and even coworkers would come together to enjoy dishes created by Adeola that were from different parts of the world. While hosting these events she began to experiment with different flavors, which lead to the creation of Ade Spice®️ - a ready to eat sauce blend of peppers, that she now produces within a specialty kitchen and sells nationwide. Her sauce is now known within the culinary community and continues to gain popularity as other chefs experiment with dishes of their own and Ade Spice®️ combined.
With an already successful and still budding career in the culinary and event management industries, Sokunbi still felt like there was more to do and learn! In 2019 she sought to combine her business acumen with legal expertise by completing her Masters at the University of Georgia’s School of Law, graduating in 2020. With a focus on business law, Sokunbi lends her legal skills to hospitality focused businesses through her consulting firm, AYO Hospitality & Consulting Services. Her client portfolio ranges from small businesses and local restaurants to large food service operators.
In an effort to give back and use her industry experience for good, she joined forces with the Navigate Foundation, a nonprofit that provides leadership skills to local high school culinary programs which allow students to be paired with industry chefs and gain invaluable leadership experience while helping fill the labor shortage gap experienced during the pandemic.
She is also a registered mediator in the state of Georgia, and in her spare time she remains dedicated to mentoring the next generation of professionals, serving as an Adjunct Professor teaching Hospitality Law at her alma mater Georgia State University.
Sokunbi has been able to combine her passions for hospitality, culinary art, the intricacies of law, event management and more to create an impressive career track that expands across industries. Her commitment to ensuring that her work matters and leaves a legacy gives her the titles of Innovator, Creator, Educator, Visionary and more.
