Sky Hanka

Sky Hanka

With a Bacholer’s in Culinary Arts and Nutrition, and currently working towards a Master’s in Integrative Nutrition with a focus on Clinical Herbalism, integrative chef Sky Hanka’s personal philosophy around food is deeply rooted in the belief that plants can be utilized as medicine. She’s been working in the culinary field for the past nine years, and feels a great responsibility to educate and influence food culture in America

Although born and raised in Houston, she felt consumed by wanderlust at a young age. Her love to travel guided her to the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park where she began exploring her passion for food. From there she worked under Rick Bayless in Chicago before landing in Denver, Colorado where she finished her undergrad degree. While cooking in Colorado she expanded her knowledge on fermentation, charcuterie, and spent free time hiking and foraging in the Rocky Mountains. She also managed a cooking school and has taught cooking classes for the past five years.

Over the years her personal battles with her health influenced her own relationship with food and her philosophy as a chef. She returned to Houston last spring 2018 and is now working at Blackwood Land, a educational farm located in Hempstead, Texas. She also curates private dinner parties, workshops, and produces small batch herbal offerings.

She refers to herself as culinary wildflower, offering a conscious and restorative herbal approach to cooking.