Interested in the intersection of race, class, and food, Underground Chefs of South Central is an exploration of black culinary creativity and ingenuity.

For a week and a half, I documented black chefs across South Central, Los Angeles–a neighborhood most commonly associated with gang violence–documenting five chefs to further complicate the narrative of Black folks contribution to America’s culinary tradition.

Oriana Koren is an an editorial and commercial photographer based in Los Angeles. Koren’s penchant to disarm subjects using gentle wit and deep empathy equips them with a nimbleness that resonates in the studio and on location, across the globe.

Their work often lies the intersections of gender, race and sexuality in the age of visibility and inclusion. They are a founding member of the Authority Collective and the lead architect behind the Lit List, a new award committed to recognizing and awarding the outstanding work of under the radar, marginalized photographers.