Culinary celebrations: Miller’s passion creatively connects food, people

Rhonda Minton | Office of Advancement  |  03/09/2021

Recent weeks have been quite busy for entrepreneur and alumna Kirbee Miller of Nashville and founder of KiNiMi Kitchen. One of Miller’s specialty creations—KiNiMi Pop Rosemary-Garlic Popcorn—has been selected as part of the valued365 box included in the official gift bag given to every presenter and performer at the 63^rd GRAMMYs on March 14.

Plus, Miller is currently leading the Top 10 round of a global online Favorite Chef competition, and also was a featured speaker at Collective 615’s “ChallengeHer,” an event on March 7 as part of International Women’s Day Celebration.

About three weeks ago, Miller received a call from a person who told her about “an opportunity that’s perfect for you.” When she found out it was for the GRAMMYs, her reaction was “Ok, let’s make it work.” She kicked into high gear to submit samples for consideration. It wasn’t long before the deal was sealed, and her rosemary-garlic popcorn was on its way to the GRAMMYs.

“Being a part of this iconic event is a paramount shift for me, and this happened because of a connection I’d made several years ago,” Miller said. “I’ve spent years creating and studying the ‘why’ behind things … and those connections between people and experiences are a strong part of what drives me.”

Voting for Top 5 in the Favorite Chef competition, which also benefits Feeding America, closes at 6 p.m. PST on March 11. The winner receives $50,000 and a feature in Bon Appétite magazine.

Should Miller win the competition, she plans to use the funds to launch a culinary studio. The multipurpose space will serve as home for holding food exploration events and cooking classes as well as a location to continue recording a cooking and talk show.

At age 18, the Michigan native moved to Nashville to attend college with the goal of becoming a doctor. As a pre-teen, Miller was exposed to caregiving, tough healthcare conversations about her father’s illness and a medical malpractice incident that led to his death. As a teenager, she got involved in volunteering efforts, health care and science-focused clubs and groups with the career goal of serving the world as a doctor.

“I’ve always been fascinated by science and how things worked. The concept of being able to understand how something worked and then connect with people who could help them absolutely fascinated me,” she said.

Miller earned a Bachelor of Science degree in biology and chemistry from Lipscomb in 2007, and she added a Master of Science in health care informatics in 2014. Since cooking has always been a part of Miller’s life, she would leave her healthcare job at the end of the day and make designer cakes in the evenings. Miller soon realized her dream career path in the medical field was not satisfying her as anticipated, and the persistent voice in her head kept nudging Miller to focus on the creative outlet of connecting people and food. 

“My career plans changed and morphed, and I couldn’t be happier with the results,” she said.

As early as the age of five, she was often found in the kitchen by her mother as Miller would drag a barstool to the counter and begin experimenting and cooking. Miller established KiNiMi Kitchen about three years ago as a culinary experience company. She said food is something people from all walks of life can share and experience. 

“Food is one thing that can bring people together who seemingly have no other connection,” she said. “It levels the playing field. Food is a start to inviting people into how we are more alike than we are different. When people really let that soak in, that’s the beginning to meaningful connection and conversation.

“Cooking and baking have been an integral part of my life since childhood. Some of my fondest memories are in the kitchen!” she said.

Miller said she enjoys the rich, culinary history that living in Nashville offers. “There is a beautiful mixture of traditional southern food, international cuisine and foods from all of the ‘transplant’ residents who have also made Nashville their home,” she said.

“My heart is in the kitchen, and I get such joy through sharing love and the opportunity to connect over a table full of delicious, flavorful food,” Miller said. “There are few things better than the few seconds of contemplative silence that follows the first bite of food then the person expresses how they feel sometimes in words, and sometimes with an expressive gesture. Yep, that never gets old.”

You can keep up with KiNiMi Kitchen at kinimikitchen.com and @kinimikitchen on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Visit favchef.com/2021/kirbee to support Miller in the Favorite Chef competition with your daily vote.