Celebrity chef Jeff Henderson was one of the speakers during SEPC's recent Southern Exposure event. He shared his inspiring story, from being in prison for ten years to becoming a celebrity chef.
As a youngster, he grew up in southern Los Angeles and saw his mother struggle to get food on the table. Every day, Henderson was on the school bus from the inner city to the suburbs, driving through wealthy neighborhoods. He began to wonder why these people lived there and he lived in a very different part of town. "Those kids had choices for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and they even had double door refrigerators," he said. "In my life, family and school didn't work and I started to wonder why I was even born."
Around the age of seven or eight, Henderson became criminalized. He saw his mother struggle and wanted to help. As time progressed, his criminal activities became worse and at the age of 23, he ended up in federal prison, where he spent ten years of his life. "It was the darkest place on earth. All the choices I had made in life went through my head."
Chef Jeff on stage at Southern Exposure.
Prison kitchen
"At one point, I got pushed into the prison kitchen where I worked six days/week. At that time, I had one percent of criminal still in me and I started my underground catering business by stuffing my underwear and socks with food, shoveling it out of the kitchen." The prison kitchen was also the place where he discovered his passion for cooking. After 10 years, Henderson walked out of prison, and he got an opportunity to work for a chef and prepare six-course tastings at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas. "To stand out from the competition, I produced seven courses, and each course came out with different China tableware." That didn't go unnoticed, and he received a job offer at the Bellagio Hotel and started building his career.
Cooking as a family
"Making the right choices in the kitchen led to life-changing stories," he said. His goal is to bring families back to the table as he believes that families who cook together will stay together. When asked what his favorite produce items are to cook with, he said the "Holy Trinity". This includes onions, bell peppers, and celery. The go-to vegetable he eats about four times a month is cabbage, burnt up a little bit with just butter, salt, and pepper. "I also love butternut squash and blend it with sweet potatoes. Being from the south, my family and I also love collard greens, mustard greens, lettuce, and microgreens."
For more information:
Jeff Henderson
Chef Jeff
info@chefjefflive.com
www.chefjefflive.com