Back in 2008, Kelis thought she was done with the music world. Burned out by the business and no longer signed to a record label, she decided instead to go to Le Cordon Bleu culinary school to train as a saucier. Just five years prior, the singer had had a huge hit with “Milkshake” and been nominated for a Grammy. In terms of career curveballs, this was a Sandy Koufax move.
But today, sitting in the Mondrian Hotel in Soho, the 34-year-old feels that she learned a hell of a lot more than just how to stir up a killer hollandaise.
“Everyone in the music business likes to think that everyone cares about what we’re doing,” she tells The Post. “I realized that actually, they don’t, and they’re doing just fine!” The ego check, she says, was much needed, and her humility came as a surprise to her culinary school instructors. “When I graduated, one of my chefs said it was a pleasure having me, but initially, they weren’t sure how I was going to be. They must have expected me to be some kind of monster!”
She claims enrolling was one of the best decisions of her life. Although she released the dance-oriented collection “Flesh Tone” in 2010, her culinary school experience feeds much more directly into her sixth album, “Food,” which came out this week. Produced by TV on the Radio and Yeah Yeah Yeahs collaborator Dave Sitek, it’s an album of classy, vintage soul. The track list also reads like a mouth-watering menu, featuring titles such as “Breakfast,” “Cobbler,” and “Friday Fish Fry.” Kelis is so proud of her cooking skills that at the recent SXSW music festival in Austin, Texas, she was dishing out jerk ribs (the inspiration for another song title) from her own food truck to rave reviews.
But it’s not hard to understand why the teachers at Le Cordon Bleu might have been hesitant about having her as a student. Kelis Rogers’ reputation for unruly behavior started young and led to her leaving the family home in Harlem when she was just 16. “My mom was very strict, but I thought I had all the answers,” she says with a smile. “My initial aim was to be on Broadway. My mom said, ‘If you’re gonna do your own thing, you should be on your own.’ ”[My culinary instructors] must have expected me to be some kind of monster!
- Kelis
Kelis’s flamboyance and brashness didn’t end there. In 1999, she burst onto the scene with her fearsome debut single, “Caught Out There” (the chorus of which featured her ranting “I hate you so much right now” at an unnamed ex-boyfriend). For a while, her unofficial nickname was “Thunder Bitch.”
“People say to me, ‘Oh, you’ve changed so much,’ ” she laughs. “Of course I have! It’s called growing up.”
The other major change in her life is the addition of her now 4-year-old son Knight — born shortly after Kelis filed for divorce from Knight’s father, Nas. The divorce quickly turned unpleasant. Nas — who was ordered to pay $51,000 a month in child support — was barely allowed to even see the infant Knight. The rapper later admitted to being unfaithful, and the cover of his 2012 album “Life Is Good” shows him posing with part of Kelis’ wedding dress.
“He talked about the divorce when his album came out so now it’s a topic for me,” she says, clearly weary of talking about something that happened five years ago. “I really don’t have deep feelings about it anymore. I was at peace a long time ago.”
Although she and Knight live in LA now, Kelis still considers herself a proud New Yorker and returns regularly to her old neighborhood — even though she’s not always so impressed with what she sees.
“When I was a kid, there was a feeling of crossing the tracks when you went in to Harlem, but now it’s bled more into Manhattan,” she says. “But I’m still a New Yorker to the core. The directness and precision and efficiency are things you don’t find anywhere else. This is the city that made me.” And 15 years on, Kelis is still doing us all proud.
Kelis’ Bossy Juice
“There aren’t any ratios. It’s just whatever will fit in the blender!” she says. “Coconut water has a lot of electrolytes and I just love orange juice. For me, the day hasn’t started without some good OJ. Kale is very good for you, but I don’t enjoy the taste, so the orange and the ginger cuts the flavor and makes it more manageable. Apple makes it sweet and banana gives it a good thickness.” Enjoy!
Ingredients: Coconut Water, Kale, Orange juice, Ginger, Apple and Banana