Meet Chef Za.

Nzali Scales, affectionately known as Chef Za, translated her love for cooking into a business and founded Zaza’s Kitchen in 2018 as a food blog and meal prep service. Upon graduating from Spelman College, she went on to Northwestern University as a Doctoral Sociology student in 2019 to research how to address food-related health disparities in Black and Brown communities. Although this research gave her a fundamental understanding of food injustice, she felt she could use her platform with Zaza’s Kitchen as a more direct solution. The following year, she pivoted from a student to a full-time chef and entrepreneur.

Chef Za combines her zesty personality with her love for travel and fresh ingredients to curate memorable culinary experiences that drive impact. By teaching recipes and culinary techniques via Instagram Live during the pandemic, she began to help her online community "experience their inner chef". As her audience grew, her services with Zaza’s Kitchen expanded.

Zaza's Kitchen has evolved into a boutique culinary brand rooted in elevated, community-centered, and travel-inspired dining. Whether she's designing intimate in-home dining experiences, hosting gourmet cooking classes, or catering turnkey celebrations, every experience is thoughtfully crafted to feel warm, personal, and intentional.

Chef Za has also authored two e-cookbooks: Everything But The Turkey and Chefs, Lovers, and Friends- Gourmet Eats for the Everyday Lover and one printed cookbook- Everything But The Turkey Too. She was also featured on What’s Cooking? Atlanta- Season One-Episode Eleven, won the 2021 Women That Bloom- Wonderfully Woman Brunch Cooking Competition, and in the January 2025 edition of Atlanta Magazine.

Chef Za holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Spelman College, a Food & Nutrition Teacher’s Certificate from Columbia University, and a Health Coaching Certificate from the Integrative Institute of Nutrition. She is also a graduate of the Italian Culinary Institute.