Celebrity chef and popular Bay Area personality Ayesha Curry has been named Grand Marshal of the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma Verizon IndyCar Series season finale at Sonoma Raceway, Sept. 16-18.
Curry, wife of Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry, began her career as the creator of the popular food and lifestyle blog Little Lights of Mine and is now moving on to become one of the rising stars in the culinary world. Curry has guest judged on popular Food Network shows such as Guy’s Grocery Games and Chopped Junior, and recently authored her first cookbook, The Seasoned Life, which will be published on September 20 from Little, Brown and Company. She is also slated to host her own TV show on Food Network, Ayesha’s Homemade.
In June, Curry teamed up with chef and restaurateur Michael Mina to open International Smoke, a pop-up restaurant in San Francisco’s Mina Test Kitchen, with additional locations set to open in the next several months. Curry also boasts a meal-delivery startup, curated a collection of baby footwear and has her own signature line of olive oils, vinegars and aprons sold at retail.
In her role as Grand Marshal of the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma, Curry will take part in pre-race activities on Sunday, Sept. 18, and give the official command of, "Drivers, Start Your Engines." This will mark her first visit to a motorsports event.
“This will be my first time going to Sonoma Raceway and a Verizon Indycar Series event, so I’m very excited,” said Curry. “You can’t beat seeing a sporting event like this in person, and I’m sure it will be an incredible experience. It’s an honor to be named Grand Marshal; I can’t wait to say “Drivers, start your engines!”
The Curry family quickly grabbed local and international attention during the Golden State Warriors’ record-setting run to the 2015 NBA Championship. In addition to daughter Riley, a popular addition to Steph’s post-game press conferences, the Currys welcomed a second daughter, Ryan, in 2015.
“We are very excited to have Ayesha join us for the GoPro Grand Prix weekend,” said Steve Page, Sonoma Raceway president and general manager. “She has emerged over the last two years as one of the Bay Area’s most dynamic personalities and culinary stars, and she’ll be a perfect fit for such a high-energy event in the Sonoma Wine Country.”
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