Before Deborah VanTrece kickstarted her culinary career more than 20 years ago, she was a full-time American Airlines flight attendant, jetsetting around the globe. Unbeknown to her, those travels throughout Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia would one day influence her culinary style, which features creative modern interpretations and global influences on traditional Southern dishes. She’s credited with coining the phrase “global soul food” to describe her unique approach.
Though VanTrece always loved cooking, she never thought of making it into a career—until she found herself hating the uncertainty and turbulence that came with renegotiating contracts as a flight attendant union member.
“One day while we were on strike, there was a commercial for [getting] a cooking degree in Atlanta at the Art Institute, and I thought OK, I could do that,” she recalls. “Somewhere in the midst of [culinary school], I think I realized this is my calling. I love this. So I think that light bulb moment came while I was in school, realizing that I wanted to absorb every bit of information that I could.”
From the jump, VanTrece viewed culinary school differently from her classmates—many of whom were teenagers right out of high school. “I always felt like the underdog, because I was one of the older students then in my 30s or so,” she says. “My mentality definitely was different. I was really about the business of learning, and I worked really hard. I graduated as the valedictorian.”
Though she technically lacked professional cooking experience at that point, VanTrece had life experiences that worked in her favor. Living in different countries and experiencing diverse cultures meant she already knew how to cook certain dishes and was already familiar with global ingredients, which gave her a leg up. “It was not lost on me that a lot of the traditional soul food I grew up with … those ingredients and techniques were being utilized in other countries,” she says. “Putting all of that together is where we got to me doing a little bit of a twist on soul food or on Southern cuisine.”
“I wanted initially to spotlight soul food and to show it in a different way,” VanTrece continues. “I learned during school it wasn’t very respected. When it was time to teach the class regional cuisine, soul food came up and the teacher said, ‘Hey, Deborah, why don’t you tell us about soul food?’ Because they just didn’t know, and that was like a slap in the face for me. Because how can so much non-importance be put on the food that I grew up with that kept me healthy?”
One of her bigger goals was to bring more respect to soul food, and to show the connection it has to the ingredients and techniques with “food that was revered in other cuisines.” With that in mind, the first restaurant VanTrece opened was called Edible Art, with the intention of making Southern soul food pretty, “which no one was really doing then,” she explains. The concept was the result of combining all the knowledge she had attained from her travels and techniques she learned in school, plus her innately creative personality.
VanTrece’s inventive spirit shines in her creation of the collard green roll, a dish that has become her culinary signature. Inspired by the technique of rolling grape leaves, she envisioned a new way to present traditional soul food—giving it both elegance and novelty. Debuting the dish at a major catering event while running Edible Art, VanTrece aimed to make a memorable impression by wrapping savory fillings in tender collard greens.
The collard green roll remains a mainstay on her current restaurant menu, beloved by diners and emblematic of VanTrece’s creative legacy.
VanTrece cut her teeth as a first-generation entrepreneur, learning lessons the hard way—”by losing enough money,” she quips. “I made some bad business moves, definitely.”
There even came a point when she ended up getting rid of her restaurants and focusing on catering for a while. “I’ve always thought of myself as the high achiever,” she says. “And I had to understand that for me, failure only comes if I don’t learn the lesson, pick myself back up, and keep going. That’s my philosophy at this point, that there is no such thing as failure unless you fall and stay down.”
VanTrece opened what was then called Twisted Soul Kitchen and Bar in Decatur in 2014 in a pre-existing restaurant with partners, which she describes as “probably one of the most terrifying situations I had been in ever. I jumped back in and jumped into a mess of chaos.”
She encountered significant challenges, including financial instability, lack of transparency, and poor treatment from both clientele and the landlord. Realizing the partnership was unsustainable, she made the tough decision to leave after one year.
Following months of negotiation, she secured a new space in West Midtown Atlanta—marking a turning point.
“I never entertained the idea to not keep going; I still had confidence in what I wanted to do, what my culinary abilities and what my talent was,” she notes. “My energy shifted with this particular space that we’re in now. It was a different reception from the very beginning.”
Renamed as Twisted Soul Cookhouse & Pours, the new setting enabled VanTrece to explore her broad culinary influences, blending family traditions, travels, and guests’ stories into her evolving menu. The Hoisin Glazed Oxtails dish exemplifies her flair for global fusion and reimagining comfort food. Tender oxtails are slow-braised and lacquered in a rich, flavorful hoisin glaze—a nod to Asian culinary influences she’s embraced over the years. Served atop a bed of aromatic vegetable basmati fried rice and accompanied by sautéed ginger garlic bok choy, the dish brings together the familiar warmth of Southern cuisine with complex notes from across the world.
At Twisted Soul, the menu offerings change seasonally, with new specials regularly inspired by ongoing conversations, personal memories, and the backgrounds of both staff and guests.
“What I continue to want to show at Twisted Soul is how close we really are,” she adds. “As people, if we just look at the food alone, the connections between one country and another, how the curry got here because it came through there, and those people went there and settled there … Those are the stories that motivate me to come up with many of the dishes that I come up with.”
As her influence continued to grow, VanTrece’s talents and leadership have garnered widespread acclaim and national recognition. In 2023, she was named a James Beard Award semifinalist for Best Chef of the Southeast, adding to a resume that also includes bestselling author and host of the acclaimed show “Global Soul Kitchen,” which is now streaming on Hulu.
But more important to her than the notoriety, VanTrece wants to use her platform to create a lasting, positive impact in her community and beyond. She is a tireless advocate for healthy eating, and supports urban gardens and local farms to help increase access to fresh food in underserved areas. As a mentor, she empowers young chefs—especially chefs of color—to find their voice and pursue their passions in the challenging restaurant industry. Her leadership extends to educational initiatives and partnerships that promote both culinary creativity and social responsibility.
Above all, VanTrece’s influence is marked by a commitment to using her platform to uplift others and inspire meaningful change. “At the end of the day, I’ve been blessed to have a platform that I want to stand for something. I don’t want it to be as simple as, ‘She cooks good.’ I want to know that my journey has been impactful,” VanTrece says. “If something happened to me tomorrow, that’s the question I’d ask myself—would your journey be something that had an effect on people, because you’ve been given the gift of a platform, and you should make sure you do some positive things with it.”
