Alexa Wajed is a buffalo-born creative entrepreneur and an Alumnae of City Honors High School. She is a visual artist, trained chef, and jewelry designer. Alexa received her bachelor’s degree in Hospitality Management from Canisius College and participated in a semester abroad in Bulle, Switzerland. After many years in the corporate sector, Alexa returned to school to earn an additional degree in culinary arts and had the unique opportunity to have an externship on the Amalfi Coast in Positano, Italy for 10 weeks.
Alexa is a creative entrepreneur and a mother of two creative young men. She makes time to serve a faithful and growing clientele as a personal chef providing Virtual Cooking Classes. She enjoys helping people understand and adopt healthy eating habits, mentoring the youth, and creating abstract art, and unique hand-painted jewelry sold online and in a few local gift shops and galleries.
She serves a growing clientele as a personal chef providing Virtual Cooking Classes, helping people understand and adopt healthy eating habits. She is regularly socially engaged through several non-profit organizations while also co-owning and operating a creative agency called Eat Off Art.
Artist Statement:
My art practice involves leather jewelry design, 2D abstract artwork and collage, incorporating the use of fluid lyrical lines with a meditative process and aesthetic. Each line intuitively flows, connecting and interacting with the next, with beautifully soft, feminine movement and contour. My jewelry work currently explores the repurposing of upcycled leather from high end leather furniture scraps. My most sought after jewelry is a line of earrings called “Fleathers,” as the designs are lightweight and carry a feather like quality, although made with leather. My 2D abstract art explores the relationship of positive and negative spaces created by the weaving nature of my free flowing linework, generally in black and white, while my jewelry employs the use of bright and bold colors.
Chef Statement:
I am a later in life Chef, emerging from a long professional corporate career.
I had the opportunity to pursue education and training in culinary arts after a company I was employed with shut down with terminal layoffs!
My culinary training and exploration lead to an amazing internship along the Amalfi Coast, specifically the city of Positano at a family-owned restaurant with amazing chefs.
I learned to use minimal ingredients to most brilliantly elevate and highlight the flavors of the dishes.
My training was backed by the philosophy of a no-waste kitchen.
Eating directly from the earth and sea was also a wonderful experience for dining and learning while in Italy.
I am naturally an educator and helper – this is my focus in life and with that I want everyone to learn and understand the importance of Making Vegetables the Star of your Plate.
Through short-video or 60-90 min cooking presentations and demonstrations, I lessen the learning curve and apprehension for people who don’t consider themselves chefs,
yet are seeking healthy ways to bring vegetables into their diet successfully.
Focusing on a whole food, minimally processed diet is most beneficial to our health and our well being (mentally and physically), which is a large driver behind my work and my approach.
As a chef, artist and entrepreneur, I utilize my talents, skills and knowledge to create a quality of life for my family, pay our bills and eat great food.
Fulfilling that short list of pleasures and privileges is me embodying our mantra, mission and affirmation to “Eat Off Art.”
