Playtes: On The Table

By The Professor Chef Culinary Lifestyle Expert When I was a kid, I wanted to be a doctor. I even had someone I looked up to: Dr. Ben Carson, a Black neurosurgeon known for successfully separating conjoined twins. I read his book, watched his biopic, and connected deeply with his story. It wasn’t just his success that inspired me—it was his journey. Even as a young child, well before my teenage years, I saw parts of myself in his story. Seeing someone who looked like me accomplish something so great made me believe I could do something meaningful too. That’s what sparked my dream of becoming a doctor. ⸻ But then reality hit me. Once I realized how much school and training it would take, I thought, “Yeah… maybe not.” So I started looking for another path. That path eventually became cooking. What started as learning food and working in kitchens slowly turned into a real passion, then a career, and eventually something even bigger. Over the years, I worked in hospital kitchens, hotel kit...

  By The Professor Chef Culinary Lifestyle Expert When I first started cooking at 12 years old, I messed up bad. My very first dish was fried chicken—and I didn’t use seasoning or flour. I really thought I was doing something too. My dad had to step in and tell me everything I was doing wrong. For a while after that, I became the laughing stock of the family. But honestly, that moment lit a fire under me. It didn’t immediately make me want to become a chef, but it made me determined to become a beast in the kitchen. Less than six months later, I was cooking Mother’s Day breakfast. Then I went back home to visit my mother, and that whole summer I stayed in the kitchen. I’m talking dinners, 4th of July cookouts, family events—everything. I was either the main cook or responsible for the main dish. And somehow, the same fried chicken I messed up months before became the talk of the summer. That’s when I realized improvement comes from repetition, failure, and pride in your craft. ⸻ By...

  By The Professor Chef Culinary Lifestyle Expert I started cooking at the age of 12. At first, it wasn’t anything serious—just learning, helping, and getting comfortable in the kitchen. But over time, it turned into something I actually cared about. By 18, it became a real passion. That’s when I got my first food handler’s card and decided to step into the industry for real. I applied to be a dietary aide at a hospital. Even though they didn’t want to hire someone without experience, they saw something in me—my work ethic and passion. So they brought me in as a dishwasher and told me they would train me. Six months later, I moved up to dietary aide/dishwasher. That first step meant everything. ⸻ After that, I moved from San Diego, California to Dallas, Texas. I started working again as a dietary aide, but once again, my work didn’t go unnoticed. They saw how I moved in the kitchen, how I learned, how I handled pressure—and they started putting me on the line as a weekend cook. A y...

  By The Professor Chef Culinary Lifestyle Expert A lot of people think food businesses fail because the food wasn’t good. Most of the time? That’s not the reason. A lot of food businesses shut down within the first few years because they run into problems they weren’t prepared for. The honeymoon phase wears off. Profit margins get thin. Operating costs rise. Equipment breaks. Inventory gets wasted. Labor gets expensive. Sales become inconsistent. And a lot of owners realize too late: Running a food business and cooking good food are two different skills. One of the biggest problems I notice is  under-capitalization. People open with just enough money to get started… But not enough money to survive. That’s dangerous in food because this industry moves fast and costs add up even faster. That’s why I believe one of the smartest things a food business can do is secure at least: 12 months of working capital. Not just opening money. Operating money. Money to survive slow seasons, m...