Chef Tonya Thomas is a chef and entrepreneur from Baltimore, MD who has always had a passion for when food, family, and community meets culture and tradition. Tonya has been in the industry for over 25 years, and alongside her husband, Chef David Thomas, operated a catering company and opened several restaurants, including the nationally recognized, award-winning Herb & Soul Gastro Café and Ida B’s Table. In 2020, Tonya and David stepped away from their restaurant to establish H3irloom Food Group with long-time friends Floyd and Linda Taliaferro, and in 2024 acquired full ownership. Today, the 100% Black, Woman-owned company’s portfolio includes dining experiences, catering, restaurant concepts, food service management and the award-winning H3 product line, working together to uplift the Black food narrative and provide a deeply personal approach to the Black food experience that’s rooted in history and culture.
Playing a critical role in all of H3irloom’s culinary endeavors, Tonya is the principal of Nostalgia Baking Company, a pop-up concept inspired by her late grandmothers’ and great-grandmother’s legacy of baking and the strong spirit instilled in her as a child. Infusing modern savory and sweet techniques into classic baked goods, Tonya has created a cult following with her Sweet Potato Sticky Bun Biscuit and vegan-friendly Honey Bun Biscuit.
Through each venture over the years, Tonya’s goal has been consistent: to reclaim the narrative and share the legacy around African American cooking and soul food traditions, while playing an active role in its evolution. She has been fortunate for the opportunity to assist with a dinner at the James Beard House, traveled with well-known chefs to Senegal and Cameroon, participated in a number of National Food and Wine Festivals. Les Dames Escoffier, is a 2021 & 2023 JBF Bootcamp Alum, JBF WEL 2022, 2023 JBF Legacy Advisor, and 2024 Black Women in Food Culinarian Awardee.
Tonya has been featured on Sara Brown’s Tasty Travels’, CBS This Morning, Sherry Shepherd Show, to name a few. Today, her work continues to extend beyond the kitchen with TasteWise Kids, an organization that offers food education to children to inspire a lifetime of healthy eating habits, in Maryland, as well as the Muloma Heritage Center in St. Helena Island, SC.