About Diedra

FOOD • COMMUNITY • CREATIVITY • A MORE NOURISHED LIFE

Diedra Raé’s culinary journey is rooted in family, culture, creativity, and a lifelong appreciation for food.

Growing up in Colorado and spending time in Taos, New Mexico, Diedra was deeply influenced by her family’s traditions, including a blend of Southern hospitality, Native American roots, and Italian and Jewish heritage.

Her passion for cooking began in childhood while helping family members prepare traditional dishes, preserve fruits and vegetables, and bake breads and pastries using produce grown and harvested from the family farm and cooked in old-fashioned adobe homes. Those early experiences helped shape her work ethic, values, and lifelong connection to food, family, and community.

Anasa Naturals & an Early Creative Chapter

Anasa Naturals began as an expression of Diedra’s creativity, appreciation for natural ingredients, and love of translating the art of the bakery into handcrafted bath and body formulations. It was an early creative project and remains a meaningful part of her personal and creative history.

During this chapter, Diedra was also involved with Culinary Kids, a community organization that used cooking as a hands-on way to help children build important life skills, including math, reading, following directions, creativity, and confidence. Her work with children reflected a belief that the kitchen could be both a place of nourishment and a powerful learning environment.

Her Culinary Background

Later, Diedra chose to deepen her lifelong connection to food by attending the Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts in Boulder, Colorado, where she graduated with honors. Her formal culinary education became part of a broader period of professional work in the culinary and pastry industry.

During this period, Diedra designed custom cakes for special events, weddings, corporate events, and marketing projects. In 2014, she assisted with the opening of Sur La Table in Southglenn and worked as a chef instructor, teaching interactive culinary classes for adults and children.

During this stage of her culinary career, Diedra spent three seasons working as a private chef for Denver Nuggets player Ty Lawson prior to his 2015 trade to the Houston Rockets. During that same period, she worked with other private clients and athletes throughout Colorado. She also conducted weekend product demonstrations at Mountain High Appliance for luxury appliance brands including Dacor and Bosch.