Tanya is the chef/owner of the Brown Sugar Kitchen restaurants and author of Brown Sugar Kitchen and New Soul Cooking cookbooks. She contributes to the James Beard Foundation as a writer and chef. Her Oakland-based restaurant has received multiple Michelin Bib Gourmand awards. She is an in-demand public speaker who frequently leads the conversation on inclusion and equity in the hospitality industry.

Tanya holds a Bachelor of Arts in Russian Language and Literature from the University of Virginia, and a Grande Diplôme from La Varenne École de Cuisine in Burgundy, France.

Tanya competed on the 15th season of Top Chef on Bravo; was the host/soul food expert on Food Network’s Melting Pot and has appeared on The Today Show, The Talk, CBS This Morning, Hallmark Channel’s Home & Family, VH1′s Soul Cities, Sara Moulton’s Cooking Live, The Wayne Brady Show, TV One’s My Momma Throws Down, and PBS’ The Great American Chef’s Tour.

Tanya has served as co-president of the prestigious Les Dames d’Escoffier Bay Area chapter, and was honored by the City of Oakland when June 5, 2012, was declared “Tanya Holland Day.” A year later she was awarded the Key to The City. Internationally, she served as a culinary diplomat for the U.S. State Department in Kazakhstan and Mexico and taught classes in France for gastronomic travelers.  In March 2020, she will host a tour in Tanzania. The Brown Sugar Kitchen cookbook has been published in Japanese.