Introducing Chef Shai

About ButterQueen Bakery—Now Aleras Table

From Southern pound cakes to protein-packed meals, everything I create is rooted in one belief: food should bring comfort and nourish your body.

As a Black woman and self-taught chef raised in a family of professional cooks, I learned early that food is a love language. In my family, love looked like Southern pound cakes and elaborate Sunday dinners. But my own health journey taught me that food must also be our most powerful medicine and that healing starts at the table, not in a pill bottle.

A few years ago, I received the diagnosis that 1 in 5 women hear: PCOS and later on pre-diabetes. I was told to 'just lose weight and take these pills.' There was no grace, no tools, and—most importantly—no flavor. I felt discouraged and confused. I didn’t want a detox or a crash diet; I wanted to feel like myself again.

So, I became my own test kitchen. I worked with nutritionists to build recipes that balanced blood sugar, increased energy and reduced cravings without losing the nostalgic flavors I loved.  I began crafting meals that hit the perfect balance—high protein, moderate fiber, and moderate to low carb. Within six months, I reversed my pre-diabetic diagnosis using nothing but natural ingredients and intentional cooking.

That journey birthed Aleras Table. 'Alera' is Latin for to nourish and support, and that is exactly what we do. We aren't a diet. We are a big sister in the kitchen helping you stay consistent. Whether you are recovering from a doctor’s warning or just want to stop guessing at what’s 'healthy,' we’ve got you. We’ve done the research, the macro-counting, and the scratch-cooking so you and your family can just sit down, eat, and heal.

This isn’t a detox or a diet. It’s real food that works for you, not against you.

So whether you're ordering our lower sugar pound cake to cheer up a loved one—or grabbing our jerk chicken bowls to hit your protein goals—you’ll feel seen, supported, and satisfied.

That’s the Aleras Table promise.

Chef Shai