With a passion for deconstructing flavors and a reverence for the culinary heritage of communities around the globe, Chef Katina “Tina” Hoyles is a Navy veteran, award-winning culinary artist and owner of Southern Girls Burgers in Washington, DC – a traveling pop up restaurant specializing in gourmet burgers and fries.

Katina grew up in Rock Hill, South Carolina, where she learned local farm-to-table cooking from her mother, grandmother and aunts, who all believed in serving fresh food to their loved ones. Though she always watched closely as the matriarchs of her family poured love, kindness and soul into every meal, her culinary career did not officially begin until she joined the United States Navy at 26 as a Culinary Specialist. 

Her journey with the Navy would take her around the world until she was appointed to Camp David, the United States President's official retreat. There, as a chef, she prepared both fast-casual and formal dining meals for senior officials and visiting world leaders. It wasn’t long before she was officially assigned to The White House as a traveling member of President Obama’s food service team, where she remained until President Obama offered her a position on his personal chef team. 

As a Black female chef, Katina is committed to creating seasonal meals that celebrate and pay homage to the deep culinary traditions of marginalized communities around the world. Her personal mission is to use food as a medium to create belonging – which for her, means creating food that calls us all home to ourselves, to our communities and to humanity.