Meet Chef Angela Huang
Redefining Health as Soul Work - as coming back to ourselves and to a sense of wholeness and deep presence no matter what the circumstances.
Redefining Health as Soul work and cooking as soul nourishment has marked a wonderful paradigm shift in my approach. Reworking what Health means to me has been profoundly empowering and has unlocked the key to feeling deeply content and fulfilled in my life and body, regardless of my physical symptoms.
When Health is the experience of feeling at home in your body and mind, feeling a sense of being entirely complete, you enter a flow of trust where there is nothing to fear. True Health is feeling a sense of inner peace that can be accessed at any time.
Of course, pain sucks, but pain has made me more resourceful, resilient, and compassionate. It’s connected me to humanity and taught me how to live more fully and presently. I am grateful for how my chronic illness conditions have gifted me wisdom and insight. That being said, relief, comfort and symptom reduction and/or even resolution is at the core of the work I do.
Flare-ups still occur, yet my life is not defined by them. The inescapable stress and trauma we all experience in life is part of being human. However, every difficult endeavor has given way to a deeper and more expansive perspective that I would not have had without it. My immensity increases and I’m able to carry more beauty, pain, and love with every heavy-hearted experience. The bottom line comes down to the soul work that always brings me back to presence, peace, and power.
Health (with a capital H) is a big word, it can mean very different things to different people. The heart of my work has been helping each client discover their unique and authentic path to feeling Healthy and empowered.
Health coaching is soul activism and cooking is both art therapy and nutrition in action.
Playtime in the kitchen is a form of yoga for me, and I personally can’t think about what and how to cook without thinking about nutritional value. I try to bring that essence of play to every coaching and cooking session.
I believe that our relationship to how we eat is just as important as what we eat. I'm fascinated by the psychology of eating, psychoneuroimmunology — the study of the effect of the mind on Health and resistance to disease, and all the new research on our microbiota (like how our gut bacteria has been shown to affect human emotions!).
Teaching others what I've learned allows me to share myself in an intimate way and guide my clients through their transformational journey.
My Journey With Food And Health
I’ve held various roles in the culinary industry since I was a teenager. From my first job at Carl's Jr, to head chef at a hippie Macrobiotic restaurant in my early twenties, to a pastry chef, to a nutritional consultant and chef instructor, to finally a Health coach. In other words, I have always been obsessed with food.
Teaching at the culinary school 9 years ago was an incredible skill-building experience for me. I enjoyed my work, but my passions for nutrition and health were overshadowed by the syllabus I was given to follow. The stress of misalignment I was feeling ultimately culminated in a trip to the emergency room. My body was covered with hives and open-wound rashes. I was teaching food safety the next day and realized the irony: I was a walking food hazard! At the hospital, I was finally able to laugh at myself.
Over the next few weeks I had a spiritual awakening—I read, I prayed, and I learned how to feed my body in an inspiring new way. That was the beginning of me seeing Health as Soul work. During this time, I successfully healed months’ worth of severe eczema, oozing rashes, and horrible itchy hives. It’s a period I refer to as my “Healing Honeymoon.”
Food And Autoimmunity
This experience opened my eyes to the work of pioneers in ancestral health and functional medicine, such as Chris Kresser (The Paleo Cure), Rob Wolf ( Wired to Eat), Terry Wahls (Wahls Paleo and Wahls Paleo Plus), Paul Jaminet (Perfect Health Diet), and others.
For two years, I was strictly committed to the Autoimmune Protocol (AIP). This in itself was not ideal as AIP is meant to be a short term diet. Thankfully, I moved past reintroduction phases in my own way, and I now thrive on an intuitive Paleo-based diet. My work has more recently been infused with the role that trauma and grief plays in Health and healing. This includes the work of Gabor Mate, Francis Weller, Caroline Myss, Chris Palmer, and others.
To read more about my journey with food and healing, click here.
I now work together with individuals at varying stages of healing to help them reduce inflammation, manage stress, repair their gut, balance their blood sugar, and strengthen their immune system. Finally, for me and my clients, Health as Soul work is all about finding peace on our plates by shifting and expanding our relationship to food and eating.
Let me support you and your commitment to health
My desire is to use my life experiences and skills to improve the lives of others who choose to embark on healing diets and feel overwhelmed with how to cook and eat differently than those around them. Through coaching, private cooking lessons, special classes and events, I educate and celebrate those wanting to uplevel their quality of life in this way.
I am committed to understanding the dietary needs of my clients, without sacrificing creativity or satisfaction that you desire from food. My clients are conscious people who are wanting to feel freedom, and experience that next level of Health. This is the kind of life-giving nourishment that brings about aliveness, agency, and empowerment.
Please contact me to learn more.
Let’s talk!
embracing imperfection
Latest Media Feature
Blueberry Pear Tigernut Crisp with Honey Coconut Ice Cream
Testimonials
Being on an elimination diet can be hard. Finding recipes which are easy and delicious is key to sustainability.
Chef Angela mastered both, allowing me to eat amazing and nutritious foods I never thought I'd eat and teaching me how to make them at home.
Her friendly and positive attitude made the event fun — I will attend again when I have the chance.
— Erin Joyce, AIP Expert and Lyme Warrior
Chef Angela is truly gifted in her kind, gentle, informative approach. She is a master at putting nutritional puzzle pieces together.
She has worked with my family and I on gathering information and assessing where we could make some gradual dietary changes that are beneficial but not too overwhelming. She takes the shame out of recognizing eating habits and is understanding of "real life" diets.
As a mom to 4 children, I want the best for all of them but my 4 year old son began having severe reactions to mosquito bites and also deep emotional peaks and valleys. Chef Angela has walked me through identifying which foods might be triggering a histamine reaction and also recognized that he needed much more healthy fat in his diet to feed his brain. Once I started offering more of those things to him, his behavior changed that very same day. It was incredible. I cannot thank Angela enough.
My mother's intuition knew something was "off" with my son and Angela is helping us to see the sweet boy come back through changes in his diet. I had tried to find the answer searching online and was completely overwhelmed and discouraged trying to do it on my own.
I'm so thankful to have Chef Angela guiding me on this journey. Her expertise is priceless.
— Jessica Wilson, The Conscious Stepmom
I loved the experience of meeting others and getting to know them, whilst enjoying absolutely delicious and nutritious food, and learning, all at the same time.
It was a rich and inspiring experience.
I have some great new ideas of ways to prepare food at home. I feel that Angela's classes would be extremely enjoyable to anyone, but in particular for those who have specific restrictive diets, this is such a treat. Thank you Chef Angela!
— Josie Fenton. Wilderness Based Coach and Therapist
Education and Certifications:
Kresser Institute, ADAPT Functional Medicine Health Coach, January 2020
Prison Yoga Project, Prison Yoga Trauma Informed Training, March 2018
The Urban Monk, Tao Tan Pai Qi Gong Level 2 Live Training, June 2018
CorePower Yoga, Registered Yoga School, 200 Hour Power Yoga Teacher Training Certification, August 2013
Additional Trainings in Yin Yoga and Kids Yoga
Bauman College of Holistic Nutrition and Culinary Arts
Nutrition Consultant Certification, June 2013
Nutrition Educator Certification, December 2007
ServSafe for National Restaurant Association, Certified Instructor and Registered Examination Proctor, March 2013
Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts, Culinary Arts Program Graduate with Honors, March 2012
Integrative Medicine for Mental Health: Practical Solutions for Treating Depression, Bipolar Disorder, Anxiety, OCD and Eating Disorders, Conference presented by James Greenblatt, M.D., and WIlliam Shaw, Ph.D., November 6-7th, 2010
University of California, Berkeley, BA in Film Studies, courses in organic chemistry, psychology, and nutrition, December 2006
Institute of Culinary Awakening Vegan Chef Training, Summer 2006
Experience:
Chef Angela Huang LLC, July 2017- Present
Owner, Health and nutrition coaching and education, paleo cooking workshops and lessons.
Real Food Real Healthy, September 2010— 2017
Owner, Offering nutrition consultations and education, menu planning, and catering.
Choice Culinary Events, February 2015 - December 2016
Catering to those looking for high quality, nutrient-dense, allergen-free cuisine.
Shine Restaurant and Gathering Place, October 2015 -March 2016
Alternative, Gluten-Free Pastry Chef
Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts, September 2012 - October 2015
Adjunct Chef Educator of Culinary Arts and Pastry Arts programs (November 2013 - September 2015)
Home cook instructor (September 2013 - August 2014)
Tutor (September 2012 – July 2014)
Café Aion, March 2012- October 2012
Pastry Chef and Line Cook, making baked goods, specialty items, and additional desserts
Suitcase Clinic, Sept 2009 - Sept 2010
Cooking Farm-to-Table weekly dinners for Berkeley’s homeless and low-income population under 25.
Ecology Center, Berkeley Farmer's Market, May 2008 – March 2010
Market Demo Chef and Nutrition Educator. Creating recipes, nutritional handouts, and performing chef demonstrations for the Berkeley public using all local and seasonally grown ingredients. Assisting in sales and operations of the Ecology Center Store and the Berkeley Farmer's Market.
