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Shaunda’s mission is clear: Across her books, blogs, podcasts, and digital media platforms, she preserves Black culinary legacy, celebrates Las Vegas culture, and shares a Desert-to-Soul approach to making everyday life easier, more joyful, and more soulful.
Shaunda Necole: Author, Expert, Storyteller
Sharing soulful recipes and insider Las Vegas experiences that celebrate culture, community, and the joy of modern living!
Virginia-born and Vegas-based, Shaunda Necole is an award-winning author, recipe developer, and cultural storyteller best known as the founder of The Soul Food Pot®, a modern soul food platform celebrating African American culinary traditions.
She is also the creator of Vegas Right Now™, the author of preservationist books including 100 Things to Do in Las Vegas Before You Die and The Soul Food Pot Cookbook, a celebration of Black foodways reimagined for the modern kitchen, and the publisher of The Soul Food Stack on Substack.
Shaunda also hosts The Soul Food Pod, the first podcast dedicated entirely to the history, culture, and evolution of soul food.
From Virginia roots to Las Vegas lights: welcome to my Desert-to-Soul story.
My journey began far from the Las Vegas desert. Virginia-born and raised with a deep love for culture, food, and community, I carried those roots with me wherever life led. Today, living in Las Vegas, that journey has evolved into what I call my Desert-to-Soul lifestyle, blending Southern heritage, modern creativity, and the vibrant energy of the city I now call home.
Before becoming a full-time creator, my professional career kicked off as an executive at a Fortune 500 company. After I left (ahem: fled) the corporate grind, I started my own business in the cheerleading space and never looked back at that sad, gray office!
Not long after, I opened my first cheerleading retail store in a local shopping mall and quickly scaled it into a seven-figure business. My store became the first of its kind to secure a distribution deal with Amazon.
Years later, on a whim, my daughter created an Instagram account for me so I could enter a contest for one of my favorite brands, MacKenzie-Childs. (Have you seen their dinnerware? Swoon!)
That small moment unexpectedly launched my digital career. My Instagram account grew to over one hundred thousand followers in less than a year. (Thanks, daughter!) I took the reins and expanded into blogging and digital publishing, building platforms that would eventually attract major brand collaborations and partnerships.
Along the way, I also invested in real estate and built additional streams of passive income, giving me the freedom to fully embrace entrepreneurship and creative storytelling.
Today, my work spans multiple platforms—from The Soul Food Pot®, where I preserve and modernize traditional Black Southern recipes, to Vegas Right Now™, where I share insider experiences about life in Las Vegas. My content reaches millions of readers and viewers each year across Pinterest, YouTube, and my websites.
As a trusted and authoritative online publisher, my work and insights have been featured in magazines such as Forbes, Cosmopolitan, Fast Company, CEO Mogul, and Taste of Home, as well as leading lifestyle publications like Lifehacker and Refinery29.
Through it all, my mission remains the same: to share stories, recipes, and experiences that celebrate culture, community, and the joy of everyday living—from the kitchen to the desert and everywhere in between!
Some of my high-profile brand partnerships include:
“I wrote 100 Things to Do in Las Vegas Before You Die so you can easily explore the many attractions and make the most of your time in my amazing city!“
Because it’s not just slot machines that keep tourists happy in the city of lights, high hopes, and big dreams. There’s something here for everyone.
Visit the out-of-this-world Sphere Experience and admire High Roller panoramic views of the Strip. Indulge in Zen-like moments with gentle snow flurries inside the Fontainebleau’s spa. Or escape to nature excursions by hiking Red Rock Canyon, visiting the quiet town of Blue Diamond, or relaxing by the shore at Boulder Beach. In Vegas, there’s no shortage of unforgettable experiences.
Let the many calls to adventure in 100 Things to Do in Las Vegas Before You Die guide you to uncover Las Vegas’s world-famous attractions, natural gems, and tucked-away escapes.
“I come from a family of caterers, musicians, and entertainers, so naturally, I’ve always been drawn to Las Vegas!”
There’s the Vegas you think you know, and then there’s this!
Author Shaunda Necole has spent two decades traveling the desert metropolis of Las Vegas, from touristy destinations on the Strip to off-the-beaten-path treasures around the Vegas Valley. Discover why so many people keep coming here year after year. Up and down the famous Vegas Strip and beyond, this diversity, vibrancy, and curiosity make Las Vegas a city ready to be reveled in, experienced, and explored.
Click the button below to discover The Real Las Vegas tourists rarely get to know!
The Soul Food Pot Cookbook celebrates the culinary heritage of African American recipes
Cooking with love doesn’t require spending long hours in the kitchen. More efficient methods still provide food for the soul!
The Soul Food Pot Cookbook: Favorite Recipes, Places, and Food Traditions – Discover classic soul food recipes that celebrate the culinary heritage of African Americans. While this cookbook includes traditional cooking methods, it also adapts them for today’s busy home cooks and amateur chefs.
Because why wait two hours for collard greens when you can have that same down-home flavor in just 15 minutes?
“It may seem like I’m kind of obsessed, but I do 97% of my cooking in my Instant Pots!“
I wish everyone knew how easy Instant Pot cooking is for busy households—one pot straight to the plate!
If you’re serious about saving time, money and eating well with high-quality meals that don’t require stewing over a hot pot all day…
Click the button below to learn how to save time and get inspired to have fun making your family recipes too!
Thank me later 😉
Still curious about me?
Here are a few of my faves
FOOD
Soul food, seafood, and most things gourmet
PLACE
Viva Las Vegas (obvi!)
STATE
California
COLORS
Red, hot pink, and turquoise
MOVIES
Casino, Beaches, and Purple Rain
MUSIC
Prince, Mariah Carey, Drake, Earth Wind & Fire, Black Eyed Peas, and Bruno Mars
STORES
COOKING APPLIANCE
Instant Pot (of course!)
TV SHOWS
BOOKS
Inner Engineering by Sadhguru, Untamed by Glennon Doyle, and Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
Want more ways to connect with me?
Explore my world across:
🍽️ Soul food recipes: TheSoulFoodPot.com
💡Substack newsletter: The Soul Food Stack
🎧 Listen in: The Soul Food Pod and Vegas Right Now!
🎲 Vegas tips & guides: VegasRightNow.com
🛍️ Shop now! The Shaunda Shop is HERE!
Want to book me for a speaking gig? Check out my speaker page –> HERE.
To book an interview, please contact Alex McPherson, amcpherson@reedypress.com
Interested in a brand partnership? Please contact my agent at: johanna@johannavoss.com
Today, Shaunda Necole’s Desert-to-Soul philosophy connects her Virginia roots, Las Vegas lifestyle, and passion for preserving Black culinary traditions through storytelling and modern media.