Kitchen Shaman was born in 2005 to showcase the talent, experience, and extensive food knowledge of Chef Johnnie Xel.

Chef Johnnie started blogging as Kitchen Shaman to share recipes, food facts, cooking tips, and their unique perspective on the culinary world. Over time, Kitchen Shaman began offering cooking classes and demonstrations in the Phoenix area and later, recipe development and culinary coaching – all while maintaining a full-time professional cooking career and publishing the blog.

For more than a decade now, Kitchen Shaman has published hundreds of blog posts, created “how to” videos, and published ecookbooks. Chef Johnnie has relished the opportunity to apply hard-earned professional cooking techniques to plant-based diets, teaching you how to Cook Vegan Like a Pro.^TM

Kitchen Shaman, LLC & KitchenShaman.com are the joint undertakings of Chef Johnnie Xel and D’Marie Delci.

photo by Charissa Lucille

Chef Johnnie Xel  — Executive Chef & CEO

Chef Johnnie Xel IS the Kitchen Shaman, spreading their passion for food and cooking to anyone who will listen, read, watch, or try their recipes.  From an early life standing on a stool at age 5, cooking next to Grandma, Chef Johnnie went on to spend two decades working at taco stands and delis, country clubs and top-rated restaurants, until they found themselves working for Iron Chef Jose Garces.

Chef Johnnie has applied professional cooking techniques and a refined palate to creating delectable vegan recipes that are actually easy to make. In addition to sharing those recipes in cookbooks and on the Kitchen Shaman website and newsletter, Chef Johnnie loves to teach others how to Cook Vegan Like a Pro^TM  thru classes, demos, and private coaching sessions.

During their professional cooking career, Chef Johnnie was introduced to the importance of mastering food history and knowledge. Driven to know more, they devoured books that contained immense amounts of food anthropology and history. That drive leads them to continuously search and read books and articles steeped in how food traveled around the world and how our cooking equipment has changed. Chef Johnnie brings this knowledge to KitchenShaman.com and shares that passion for the history of food in all their classes and demos.

Video is an important tool for sharing in the digital age and it’s no surprise that Chef Johnnie harnessed a college degree in film and video to reach a new audience on YouTube. Starting with simple “how-to” videos and recipes, Kitchen Shaman’s channel has expanded their offerings to include interviews, demos and talks, and random videos featuring vegan food and events.  One of the videos was entered in a Food Network contest earning Chef Johnnie a semi-finalist spot and a personal invitation to apply for Next Food Network Star.

Chef Johnnie Xel, AKA The Kitchen Shaman, is the founder, Executive Chef, and CEO of Kitchen Shaman, LLC.