Meet Rasheeda Purdie, Chef and Founder of Ramen By Ra, offering exclusive ramen experiences for you to indulge.
Meet Rasheeda Purdie a New York City-based chef who has been turning heads with her innovative cooking. She studied at The Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC before working under fashion icon Betsey Johnson. From there, she continued to the iconic Henri Bendel on Fifth Ave., where she became a top stylist and worked with high-profile clients such as Beyoncé, Michelle Obama and her family.
In 2015 she left fashion to explore cooking at the Institute of Culinary Education in NYC. She gained experience at Duane Park and Untitled Restaurant at The Whitney Museum before refining her cooking techniques under notable chefs Melba Wilson, JJ Johnson , and Marcus Samuelsson .
During the pandemic, she launched Ramen By Ra in partnership with Ada Supper Club , which celebrates Black and female expression through food.
In 2021, Ebony Magazine named Rasheeda one of their “ Black Chefs You Should Know” . In 2022, she received the Dine Diaspora - Black Women In Food honorarium for Culinarian of the Year.
In 2023, Rasheeda made her national TV debut on the Food Network Beat Bobby Flay and was awarded the People’s Chef Choice Award powered by Pepsi Dig In. She was also one of 45 chefs featured in the “ For the Culture ” cookbook by Klancy Miller.
Chef Rasheeda Purdie announces opening her first ramen shop, Ramen By Ra, at The Bowery Market in NoHo, marking it the first Black and female-owned ramen shop in America. The intimate five-seat counter invites guests to experience the city’s first breakfast-brunch ramen experience inspired by Asa-Ramen featuring a variety of unique toppings for the beloved noodle bowl. The term "Asa-ra" is a union between the Japanese word morning (asa / 朝) and ramen (ラーメン), dating back to the early 1900s in the Shida District of Fujieda City, Shizuoka Japan.