Henderson, Jeff -From prison kitchen to Food N...

Jeff Henderson - From prison kitchen to Food Network Celebrity chef

Monday, May 02, 2011

By William R. Wood | Kalamazoo Gazette

Jeff Henderson

KALAMAZOO — The Jeff Henderson who we know, celebrity chef of the TV show “The Chef Jeff Project” on the Food Network, author of The New York Times best-seller, “Cooked,” and the subject of an upcoming film by Columbia Pictures, is dramatically different than the Jeff Henderson who used to traffic cocaine.

At one point, Henderson said he controlled about 40 percent of the cocaine market in southeast San Diego.

Henderson was running a $35,000-a-week drug operation selling and manufacturing cocaine.

“As a teenager, I took lavish vacations, brought my first home, drove luxury cars and owned expensive jewelry,” Henderson said. “In other words, I lived the so-called American Dream at the expense of my community, which I am by no means proud of.”

Henderson will be in Kalamazoo to talk about his past and how he improved himself at 5:30 p.m. May 12 at the Radisson Plaza Hotel & Suites in downtown Kalamazoo. He is the guest speaker at the Opportunities for Education Scholarship Fundraising Dinner sponsored by the Kalamazoo Valley Community College Foundation.

Henderson was arrested in 1988 at age of 24 for conspiracy with the intent to distribute drugs. He served most of his sentence in the Terminal Island Federal Prison in Los Angeles. He was in prison for 10 years.

While in prison, he became a kitchen cook and found his calling.

“I enjoyed the kitchen praise and the fact that I finally found something I loved to do that was not criminal, that I could eventually turn into a great career once I was released,” Henderson said.

In prison, Henderson started with cooking fried chicken, meatloaf, cinnamon rolls and Boston cream pie. Now, some of his favorite dishes to prepare include cauliflower vichyssoise with duck confit, lobster bisque and pan-roasted sea bass with tomato water.

In 2001, he became executive chef of Caesar’s Palace of Las Vegas, the first African-American to hold that position. In 2006, at 42, he became head chef of Cafe Bellagio in Las Vegas. He now owns a catering company, Posh Urban Cuisine, and is host of a TV reality show that takes six at-risk youths and follows them as they work at Henderson’s catering company. But it was hardly glitz and celebrity status after Henderson left prison. He said he washed lots of dishes as he worked to get his life on track. It was difficult, he said, because no one gave him much respect because he was a convict.

So, what kept him going?

“My desire not to return (to prison), fix my wrongs, make my parents proud, to be around to raise my children,” Henderson said. “Having a family kept me grounded.

http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2011/05/from_prison_kitchen_to_food_ne.html