Meet Joy Pinkney-Davis | Vegan Chef & Master Creator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Joy Pinkney-Davis and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Joy, why did you pursue a creative career?

I have always been drawn to art. I knew early on that it would be my life-long love. I always crave to take on a new medium to express the current stage of my life. When I look back, there where many. One of my friends actually coined the term Master Creative to describe me when I struggled to describe myself. It was much easier than saying, “Hi! My name is Joy and I’m a Vegan chef, photographer, poet, candlemaker, designer.”

In the third grade I joined an after school poetry program and that’s when I created my first book. The pride I felt after making it has yet to leave me and I pray it never does. This moment sparked my passion for creating. In Philly I attended a vocational high school that allowed us to learn a trade. I chose Fashion Design. I had my own showcase in the senior fashion show in which I made a dress and cape from potato chip bags I found on the ground around my neighborhood. It was a recycle/reuse statement peace if you will. I also made my own prom dress equipped with a choker and train to express my semi-goth faze at the time.

After high school I decided to continue my love for writing all the way to college where I graduated with a B.A in Creative Writing with a focus in Poetry. I also became enamored with theatre and that led to a Minor in the subject. In my junior year of college with one of the infamous refund checks I purchased a Nikon D50 camera. I taught myself everything I could online, then threw myself into the world of photography. That turned into a profitable 10+ year wedding, newborn, and portrait photography business. On the days when I wasn’t out making the Philadelphia-area smile, I was working at the Apple store.

At the end of 2017 my husband and I decided to go vegan. Our new lifestyle forced me to create and experiment with ingredients I had never even heard of before. Partnering this with my writing and photography background led to a food blog. Which led to my most recent business, Joy’s Green Kitchen where we specialize in “veganizing” our favorites while also creating exciting new dishes. We work hard to recreate healthy yet savory meals that won’t have you missing meat and dairy products. Our vegan fare has been enjoyed by Tabitha Brown who is a huge fan of our vegan seafood salad. We also appeared in KevOnStage’s new food travel show called, What’s Good where we fed comedians Kevin Fredericks, Tony Baker and Tahir Moore. We have also fed artist NLE Choppa and Slim Jxmmi.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?

In December 2017 I went vegan in an effort to improve my health. I suffer from scoliosis. In order to minimize the pain and inflammation I needed to cut certain foods and drop the weight. I lost about 90 lbs in the first year. Thrilled with my results, I decided to permanently commit to a vegan journey.

Learning new ingredients allowed me to fall in love with the physical beauty of food as much as the flavor. So I begin experimenting with fun and unique ways to express my edible art. Trial and error as well as binging shows like Top Chef helped me learn to paint a canvas that looked as good as it tasted.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?

I would encourage my friends to check out the Atlanta Food Truck Park and Wadada. Both of these businesses regularly showcase multiple vegan vendors so there is something for everyone. As a Philly-native I would also recommend a nice trek through Piedmont Park and Kennesaw Mountain. They are some of the first places my husband and I went when we came to visit and now we take our little one.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?

Tan Bowers- Atlanta Food Truck park, Owner of Jonesboro’s first food truck park. Her original location was on Howell Mill road. This is where many of my customers first met me. She switched her space to plant-based in 2019 which allowed for a lot of local vegan businesses to get their start.

Nyemay Aya- Creator of The Veggie Taste festival. I am grateful to her for partnering me up with Wadada and always keeping me in the loop for different opportunities.

Jeanette Sellers- Owner of Wadada in the West End. I love how she showcases local vendors. I have done quite a few pop-ups here and it’s always good vibes.

The Village Market where I was able to vend in front of a large dope crowd and network with other artistic minds.

Brandon- My love of almost 16 years for being my number one taste-tester and hype man. I appreciate you. Thank you for encouraging and supporting me.

My family- For watching Love so I can feed the streets. And also for learning vegan recipes for her. I love to see it! My sister is also a trained culinary chef instructor and is always giving me tips and tricks of the trade.

Website: www.joysgreenkitchen.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/joysgreenkitchen

Twitter: www.twitter.com/joysgreenkitchen

Facebook: www.facebook.com/joysgreenkitchen

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCr2Z1WPqcH40R8nweA1oCCQ

Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@joysgreenkitchen