Every Thursday morning at the Children’s Museum of Phoenix, crowds of kids and their caregivers line up to be the first in the kitchen. There, they are greeted by a veritable giant who gives them high-fives, fist-bumps and affirmations. As they wash their hands, he calls them to order, addressing each child with the respect of the kitchen, referring to them as “chef,” asking to see their “chopping claw,” explaining each work station’s mise en place and describing what they will be making that day.
Chef Ed Cunje, better known by his social media cooking persona “Edible Ed,” leads the Museum’s KIDchen program. Each week, Cunje tailors his recipe and lesson to the monthly theme of the museum, creating tasty treats that reinforce an educational concept.
During a recent class, Edible Ed’s Hot Air Balloon Snack, a nod to the theme of transportation, is on the menu. It includes oranges, graham crackers, pretzels and mini marshmallows. While the class has not officially started, it is clear from the line of children and parents that it will be at capacity.
Ed kneels down, compliments a pair of siblings on their superhero t-shirts, and listens intently as they catch him up on their day. The brothers are regulars who come almost weekly to learn how to cook, stay safe in the kitchen, and, of course, make and eat some tasty treats.
“We love Edible Ed,” says Wendy Ng, a mother from northeast Phoenix who attends almost every class with her three young children.
“Every week is something new for them to learn and make, and then the kids realize that they like the food and want to eat it, because of Ed,” Ng says.
A trained chef from Los Angeles who moved to the Valley with his wife and daughter in 2019, Cunje has been with the Children’s Museum for over three years. He teaches a new lesson and dish to young chefs at two classes every week.
Cunje is quick to give credit to his family for inspiring him. His daughter, Emma, also known as “Emma Bites” on his YouTube page, was inadvertently responsible for landing him the gig at the museum.
Holly Garner, the museum's program director, was looking for a local artist who not only had experience cooking but also could captivate young children. Finding the right fit was proving challenging.
“As fate would have it, Ed's daughter, Emma, was signed up for one of the fabulous camp programs. While covering lunch, our COO, Betsy Ferman, noticed how amazing Emma's lunch looked and asked who made it for her. She responded, 'My dad! He's a chef and he has a YouTube channel!' We checked out Ed's channel and the rest is history,” Garner recalls.
“'Edible Ed' is all because of Emma,” Cunje admits. “Even before the lunch thing, which was crazy, this whole persona and the path it has led me down is because of her.”
Cunje was born with congenital spinal stenosis, a condition where the spinal canal is narrower than normal, often causing pain, numbness and immobility. As a child, he would spend hours with his mother, watching her cook, and he believes this formative experience profoundly shaped his life.
“My mom used to just plop me on the kitchen counter to separate me and my brother to keep us from fighting while she made dinner. I was mesmerized by what I saw," he says. "Over time, I just started going in the kitchen to learn from her."
The son of Guyanese immigrants, Cunje was a star basketball player in high school. But when the towering 6-foot 7-inch center's back pain became more severe, he pivoted and devoted himself to his studies and cooking.
He was accepted into Occidental College in Los Angeles, where he majored in American Studies, and where he met his future wife, Mickey. During this time, Cunje volunteered at the St. Ambrose shelter, cooking and preparing meals for those experiencing homelessness in West Hollywood. The experience profoundly impacted the way he saw himself and the people he served.
“I realized how powerful food is, especially food made with love. I saw the food I prepared fill their bellies and their souls. It was truly a powerful thing,” Cunje recalls.
After finishing college, Cunje enrolled at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts to pursue his passion. However, back problems continued to pose challenges, and soon, the physically grueling life of a chef became too much.
“During culinary school, my back got really bad. I couldn't concentrate; the pain was too much. My chef instructors tried to figure out different ways to accommodate me, but nothing worked. I had to step away from school to deal with my back,” he says.
Subsequently, Cunje endured six surgeries, two spinal fusions and hundreds of epidural injections. He has been told that he will eventually live with impaired mobility. Recovering from his last spinal surgery in 2017, with his daughter Emma turning two, Cunje was bedridden, in constant pain and severely depressed. It was then that he made a choice.
“I was laying there just thinking that this can’t be my life. This is not all she will know of her dad. So, I decided to get up, and let’s just go until I can’t,” Cunje explains.
Before the sequential surgeries, Cunje had been running pop-ups in Hollywood, along with some staging gigs for Wolfgang Puck’s catering company. With Emma at the forefront of his mind, he rallied.
“I wanted to show her that nothing should stop you, especially in the face of adversity," he says. "I knew how to cook and how to teach people how to cook, so why not do that?"
Cunje then set out to flesh out his cooking persona, “Edible Ed,” with the help of some YouTube mentors.
“I met a YouTuber Rossco Soletrain, whose content I was glued to. I linked up with him and showed him around Eagle Rock and Chinatown and he encouraged me to start the “Edible Ed” channel. He filmed the first three and edited the first two. He taught me basic editing and gave me his custom beats to use in my videos," Cunje says.
The platform gave Cunje a purpose, and soon, followers. Most tuned in to get weekly cooking tips with a heaping side of silliness and family-centered culinary content. However, some viewers were confused about his moniker’s possible mood-altering allusion.
“I always get the question, because of course, the ‘edible’ concept in cooking, is when do you add the marijuana in? And it’s like excuse me, sir, this is a kid's cooking class,” Cunje notes, laughing. “I came up with the name before weed was legal in Arizona, sir.”
The name has stuck, as has his reputation as a larger-than-life presence at the museum.
“When I connected with Ed, I immediately knew that he not only had the skills of a professional chef but also, he was an amazing dad," museum program director Garner says. "He has such a natural way of working with kids and making anyone who steps foot into a kitchen feel like they can create any delicious concoction they want.”
Cunje’s presence and sincerity shine through in the food and his engagement with the children and families that visit his classes.
“He tells our little chefs and families that if you have quality ingredients and a desire to try, cooking is simple, and you can make something great. He reminds us to 'spread love like butter' and he exudes that mantra every time he teaches at the museum,” Garner adds.
For Georgie Hanlin, the museum’s Director of Development, the story of Cunje and one student stuck with her.
“Cyrus, one of our members, has significant verbal delays. According to his aunt, this can often cause frustration with conversation because they cannot understand him. But Ed made a point to connect with him and gave him attention. Suddenly at home he was pretending that he was Edible Ed, putting on cooking classes for his sister and his cousin," Hanlin says. "Each time he’d see Ed for one of his classes, he would participate more. Eventually, Ed called him his sous-chef, and Cyrus’s confidence grew even further. It’s been incredible to watch him thrive."
For all the accolades and attention, Cunje is quick to deflect the attention away from himself.
“I fight with depression every day. I am in constant pain, all the time, because of my back. There are still days where I feel that all the chips are stacked. But when I take a moment and I reassess, and no matter how dire it is, I think about Emma. If I weren’t here, what would happen to her? That’s my baby," Cunje says. "I’m a shy person, if it were up to me, I would stay in my house all day. I have these hurdles, and these challenges. Do I stop, or do I keep going? I am going to keep going. Even if I don’t go full speed, I am going to keep going. For Emma. Always.”
In the face of adversity, Cunje has made a lasting impact on many families in the Valley.
“No one brings in the crowds quite like Ed,” Garner notes.
Initially, the classes had capacity for 12. But due to demand, the museum changed the class layout to accommodate 18 kids and their caregivers. Many of the families are regulars who sign up for the classes every week.
When pressed about his popularity, Cunje admits that it might simply be a matter of people wanting to be seen and treated well while sharing some good food.
“Ultimately, people desperately need just a little attention, for someone to see them and treat them kindly. The kitchen is always the heart of every house. It’s where memories are made and can be so full of love. It’s very cliche, but I truly do believe it, when people ask for my secret ingredient, it’s love. If it’s made from the heart, in the heart of the house, the kids, who are a huge indicator of love, they see that, and that resonates. They can trust it and know it’s true,” Cunje notes.
“Plus, today, there’s marshmallows,” he laughs.
Children's Museum of Phoenix
215 N. Seventh Street
Edible Ed's KIDchen Cooking Class takes place each Thursday at 10:30 a.m. and noon. Admission to the class is free with paid admission to the Children's Museum (and free for museum members). Spots are limited, and registration can be found in the admissions kiosk at the main entrance. Registration is first come, first serve.
