Keya Wingfield
{{Short description|Indian American chef and entrepreneur}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Keya Wingfield
| image = KeyaWingfield.jpg
| birth_name = Keya Desai
| alma_mater = J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College
| occupation = Chef, entrepreneur
| known_for = Winning Food Network's Spring Baking Championship Season 7
}}
Keya Wingfield is an Indian American chef and entrepreneur based in Richmond, Virginia.{{Cite web |title=Meet the Competitors of Spring Baking Championship, Season 7 |url=https://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/spring-baking-championship/photos/meet-the-competitors-of-spring-baking-championship--season-7 |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=Food Network |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Gupta |first=Boshika |date=2021-02-24 |title=The Truth About Keya Wingfield From Spring Baking Championship, Season 7 |url=https://www.mashed.com/341114/the-truth-about-keya-wingfield-from-spring-baking-championship-season-7/ |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=Mashed |language=en-US}}
Early life and education
Wingfield was born and raised in Mumbai, India.{{Cite web |title=Personality: Keya D. Wingfield |url=http://richmondfreepress.com/news/2021/jun/10/personality-keya-d-wingfield/ |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=richmondfreepress.com}}{{Cite web |last=Sridhar |first=Priya |date=2021-05-14 |title=Spring Baking Championship: Why Keya Wingfield's Win Was So Awesome |url=https://screenrant.com/spring-baking-championship-why-keya-wingfield-win-awesome/ |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=ScreenRant |language=en}} She moved to the U.S. with her husband David who is a native Virginian.{{Cite web |last=Hunter |first=Ashley |date=2020-05-19 |title=The Spice of Life |url=http://virginialiving.com/api/content/1891679c-649d-11ea-843a-1244d5f7c7c6/ |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=VirginiaLiving.com |language=en-us}}{{Cite web |title=New Lighthouse Labs cohort includes two Richmond startups — including an Indian potato chip maker |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/richmond/inno/stories/news/2023/07/26/lighthouse-labs-keya-co-bombay-chips-sherah.html |access-date= |website=www.bizjournals.com}}
Wingfield has an associate's degree in culinary and pastry arts from J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College in Richmond.{{Cite web |last=Watson |first=M. Christine |title=Alumni Profile: Keya Wingfield {{!}} Reynolds Community College |url=https://www.reynolds.edu/news//2023/07/alumni-profile-keya-wingfield.html |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=www.reynolds.edu |language=en}}
Career
Wingfield won Food Network's Spring Baking Championship Season 7 in 2021.{{Cite web |date=2021-04-27 |title=Self-taught Henrico baker wins Food Network title |url=https://www.wtvr.com/news/local-news/self-taught-henrico-baker-wins-food-network-baking-title |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=CBS 6 News Richmond WTVR |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=This Virginia City Has Become a Culinary Powerhouse |url=https://www.foodandwine.com/richmond-virginia-restaurant-scene-7253353 |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=Food & Wine |language=en}}
Wingfield runs a snack company that sells foods with unique flavors of India in grocery stores and online.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date= 27 November 2023|title=Keya and Co. Turning Sadness into Sugar |url=https://thelocalpalate.com/articles/keya-and-co-sadness-into-sugar/ |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=The Local Palate |language=}}{{Cite web |date=2023-09-26 |title=From bomb desserts to Bombay Chips, Keya Wingfield calls community a key to her success |url=https://www.wtvr.com/news/local-news/bombay-chips-keya-wingfield-09-26-2023 |access-date=2024-04-25 |website=CBS 6 News Richmond WTVR |language=en}} She also runs a bakery.{{Cite web |date=2022-03-14 |title=Women in Virginia are making history every day |url=https://www.vpm.org/2022-03-14/women-in-virginia-are-making-history-every-day |access-date=2024-04-25 |website=VPM |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2021-02-21 |title='I had never even seen an oven before': Richmond baker reflects on journey to Spring Baking Championship |url=https://www.wric.com/news/local-news/i-had-never-even-seen-an-oven-before-richmond-baker-reflects-on-journey-to-spring-baking-championship/ |access-date=2024-04-25 |website=WRIC ABC 8News |language=en-US}}
Wingfield writes food-related articles for various media outlets.{{Cite news |title=12 holiday cookie recipes to savor and share this season |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/food/interactive/2023/holiday-cookie-recipes-christmas-baking/ |access-date=2024-04-24 |newspaper=Washington Post |language=en}}{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=Keya Wingfield |url=https://www.epicurious.com/contributors/keya-wingfield |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=Epicurious |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Keya Wingfield's Recent Articles |url=https://www.thekitchn.com/authors/keya-wingfield |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=The Kitchn |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Keya Wingfield |url=https://richmondmagazine.com/topics/keya-wingfield/ |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=richmondmagazine.com |language=en-us}}
Wingfield is on the board of directors of Birdhouse Farmers Market, a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization in Richmond.{{Cite web |title=Board Members |url=https://birdhousefarmersmarket.org/new-page-4 |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=Birdhouse Farmers Market |language=en-US}}
Personal life
Wingfield's son died from a rare respiratory illness at 55 days of age in 2021.{{Cite web |date=2021-04-16 |title=While competing on Food Network, Henrico baker suffers an unimaginable loss |url=https://www.wtvr.com/i-have-a-story/Keya-Wingfield |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=CBS 6 News Richmond WTVR |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Mellon |first=Eileen |date=2024-03-08 |title=Recipe for Resilience |url=https://richmondmagazine.com/api/content/43d16e50-cb66-11ee-abab-12163087a831/ |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=richmondmagazine.com |language=en-us}}
References
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Category:21st-century American businesswomen