Silky Nutmeg Ganache was born on December 31, 1990, into an African American Pentecostal family[2] in Moss Point, Mississippi, but eventually moved to Chicago as a young adult. Growing up, she was an avid fan of the Food Network, and most frequently watched Emeril Lagasse’s programs.[3] She is a Hurricane Katrina survivor, and, as a result of the flooding sustained during the natural disaster, only a few visual records of her childhood exist.[4] She came out to her family as gay when she was in her senior year of high school.[2] She earned her MBA in organizational leadership from Indiana Wesleyan University in December 2017. According to Silky Nutmeg Ganache's website, she is currently pursuing her PhD.[3] Because of her Master's and PhD pursuit, she is often jokingly referred to as "The Reverend Dr. Silky Nutmeg Ganache".[3]
She went to Wabash College, an all-male college, where she came out as gay to her college community during her junior year of college,[5][2] and she thought of her original drag name, "Lasagna Frozeen", which was considered alongside the name "Honeybutta Biscuit Superbottom".[a] The name "Lasagna Frozeen" originated from when Silky Nutmeg Ganache drank too much at parties and her peers gave her the nickname "Lasagna", quipping that "Lasagna was coming out" whenever she had drunk too much alcohol.[6] She had first discovered drag during her senior year of college, when, over spring break, she attended a drag show at nearby DePauw University. Her drag mother and mentor, Vanessa Ryan,[2] later dubbed her "Silky" because she could be rough around the edges but also classy. One night, Silky went home where she watched the Food Network, and, while watching a program, she overheard the phrase "silky ganache." She added “nutmeg”, a nickname she had gained while working in food services to the name, and, from there, she would hence be known as "Silky Nutmeg Ganache".[7][2] She considers the anniversary of her first time performing in drag to be March 18, 2012.[8] Silky Nutmeg Ganache graduated from Wabash College the same year.[2]
Career
Silky Nutmeg Ganache has participated in many pageants, and has over 100 competition credits. Her pageant history includes Miss Gay Indiana University 2014 (winner), Indiana All American Goddess at Large 2014 (first alternate), Miss Unlimited Newcomer 2015 (winner), Miss Latina Continental Plus 2017 (winner), Miss Continental Plus 2017 (second alternate), and Miss Illinois Continental Plus 2018 (first alternate).[9] Prior to her time on RuPaul's Drag Race, she performed drag for six years, working at Hydrate, Roscoe's, Splash and Berlin in Boystown.[10] She drank vodka the day she received the call to appear on Drag Race, ending a six-month abstention from alcohol.[6]
From March 26 to September 6, she was a part of the rotating cast for RuPaul's Drag Race: Season 11 Tour, presented by Voss Events and World of Wonder, and hosted by Asia O'Hara.[23] The show kicked off in Los Angeles on May 26 during the RuPaul's DragCon LA wrap party (hosted by Drag Race judge Michelle Visage) and concluded with a final bow on September 6 in New York City (also hosted by Visage) at the top of RuPaul’s DragCon NYC.[23] In April 2020, amid the coronavirus pandemic, Silky Nutmeg Ganache was announced as a featured cast member for the very first Digital Drag Fest, an online drag festival for all ages, with attendees given opportunities to interact with the artists, tip them, and win prizes during the broadcast.[24] In 2020, she was featured in Magnus Hastings' Rainbow Revolution photography book.[25]
Silky Nutmeg Ganache in 2023
Silky Nutmeg Ganache starred in her own series on WOWPresents Plus series entitled Shantay You Pray, a series exploring her relationship with religion, which aired four episodes in October 2020.[26] She is also set to star in Nightmare Neighbors with Silky & Vanjie, another WOWPresents series with Vanessa Vanjie Mateo, a docuseries chronicling their life together as they move into the same apartment.[27] As of July 2023, this series is yet to be released.
Silky was announced to be one of thirteen contestants competing on the sixth season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars on May 26, 2021. She was eliminated in the third episode, placing 11th overall.[28] Soon after her elimination, she released Cocktails for a Queen, an alcoholic beverage recipe book inspired by Drag Race alum.[29] She returned in the tenth episode as a part of the "Game Within a Game" twist, making "herstory" as the queen with most lip-syncs in a single episode, with seven, and the most lip-sync wins in a single episode with six.[30]
In 2024, she was announced as one of eight former Drag Race contestants participating in Painting with Raven, a spin-off of the WOW Presents Plus series Painted with Raven.[31][32]
Personal life
Ganache is a registered Republican, although she does not hold conservative political views. In the Drag Race episode "Trump: The Rusical", she explained that this is because of party gerrymandering and "gentrification and movement of the districts", and stated that despite her official party affiliation, she does not vote for Republican politicians. She says "It's very important that people realize that if you want to stop that within the political process, get smarter than them. Register as a Republican, and they'll have to redo everything."[33]
After her run on Drag Race, Silky Nutmeg Ganache later revealed that due to the online hate and abuse she received, she fell into a depression and nearly quit drag.[34][35]
^Spelling indefinite; may be spelled "Honeybutter", or may contain a space ("Honey Butter"). Ganache noted that her introduction with this name would include the phrase "from the House of Superbottom", although it is unknown if this house ever existed.
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