Chay Wike grew up in New York City. Her parents and grandparents are from Cape Town, South Africa, and from a young age she had the privilege of traveling overseas to visit family and was exposed to all kinds of cultures and eating styles. Her path to healing began after the birth of her second child, when she was diagnosed with multiple autoimmune conditions, digestive issues, and, eventually, Lyme disease. Following a string of doctor visits, confusion, and failed medication attempts, Chay decided to take matters into her own hands and reclaim her health naturally. She has since mostly recovered using the undeniable power of functional nutrition and lifestyle medicine. She attended cooking school in Los Angeles in 2009, created the food-focused wellness blog The Kitchen Commune in 2018, and became a certified integrative nutrition health coach in 2020. Today, Chay lives in the Pennsylvania countryside with her husband and their two teenage daughters.