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Jeff Henderson made history in Las Vegas in 2007 when he was named the first African-American Chef de Cuisine at Caesars Palace. Henderson will also be the star of a new reality series on the Food Network coming sometime in 2008. He is also the best selling author of Cooked, his own memoir. What’s surprising about Chef Jeff, however; is not where he’s going, but where he’s been. Henderson spent almost a decade in jail after making an estimated $32,000 per week selling cocaine before becoming a 5-star Las Vegas chef.
Growing up in South Central Los Angeles wasn’t easy for Jeff Henderson. Raised by a single mother and forced to witness crime on a daily basis, Henderson was soon pulled into the drug scene and he eventually found himself running a multi-million dollar cocaine operation. Henderson was caught, convicted, and sentenced to prison. While incarcerated, Henderson was put on kitchen duty and learned to cook for other inmates. He discovered that he didn’t mind cooking and made the best of his time in prison by teaching himself all about the art of cuisine. After being released from prison, Henderson decided to try out his skills in the real world hoping to find a way to make money without falling back into his old ways. The problem was that almost no chef wanted to run the risk of having an ex-con working in their kitchen. After much rejection, Henderson was given a job as a dishwasher at a small restaurant. He slowly gained the respect of the employees there and worked his way up to actually cooking. He was later hired as a sous chef at some of the most prestigious restaurants in L.A including the 5-star Hotel Bel Air and the Ritz Carlton.
After feeling as though he had exhausted his options in L.A., Henderson moved to Las Vegas to try his luck among the top names in cooking. Henderson hit the jackpot and eventually became head chef at Café Bellagio. He was the first African-American ever to work as executive chef at a Bellagio restaurant. After truly finding his calling, Henderson decided to write a book telling his life story. His memoir, Cooked made him a best-selling author as well as a world-class chef. Now, Henderson speaks to inner-city kids in schools and in prisons and tries to stop kids from making the same mistakes he once did. He has set up charity organizations and he is constantly encouraging his own children to find something they love and stick with it.
Now with a new Food Network series in the works, Chef Jeff’s future looks more promising than ever. Henderson also has his heart set on opening his own restaurant in Vegas and popularizing southern cuisine by serving it in a way that is refined enough for Las Vegas fine dining. Competing with the big dogs like Emeril, Wolfgang, and Batali will be no easy task but Henderson is determined to be one of the first top African-American chef’s in Las Vegas. His series on the Food Network is already in production and will air sometime in 2008. A copy of Cooked can be purchased at any major bookstore.
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