Today we’d like to introduce you to Kashawn Willis
Hi Kashawn, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I started my culinary journey in Richmond Virginia at 16 at a Little Caesars. I really followed in my grandmothers(my mom’s mom) as she was a chef at a country club for years and would sell plates every Friday. My late aunt was the baker in the family and my mom provided me and sister creative and homemade “from scratch” dinners our entire childhood. I was in the kitchen at an early age always watching how they cooked and as I got older would experiment with different ingredients and started making meals for my family. Was not very good in all honesty but my passion for food not failed me no matter how many times my dishes might have.
Fast forward to getting my first job at Little Caesars all while taking baking and pastry classes at the University of Richmond, My passion and curiosity grew and I wanted to continue to get better while moving out of the industry, Got a job at Jasons deli out of high school to go along with my current job at the time and then a local burger joint a bit afterwards but always keeping 2 jobs, Made the move out to Texas at 17 and was planning on moving back after a year before seeing how big the culinary/restaurant scene is down here. I was big on just working my way up in restaurants as far as position before I was into actually gaining the fine dining skills when I first got into the industry. After working at multiple restaurants (North Italia, Del Friscos Steakhouse, Eatzis, Bjs Brewhouse to name a few) I decided to go to culinary school as I felt at that time, that I was lacking knowledge and wanted to refresh my basic skills. Ended up at a fast track culinary program at dallas county college for only a semester before covid came in 2020. I got my first opportunity a year late to be a chef at a kitchen, leading the kitchen , coming up with dishes but still wasn’t as creative as I wanted, which is how I got to where I am today, working as part of a 3 person team at a high end meal prep service. I also run my own business on the side , making meal prep for clients and catering weddings, dinner parties, events when they come up.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Definitely not a smooth road as the restaurant industry was very volatile even before covid and even more so today. I would say the biggest hurdle besides dealing with all multitude of different personalities you come across, was the learning how to stand up for yourself and let the people take advantage of you. I had a big problem saying no to shifts I wasn’t scheduled for, extra work, dealing with certain things that I shouldn’t have been as I progressed. Now I would say my biggest challenge after crossing over to the side of entrepreneurship and the more private sector is the consistency in work and need for self promotion across all platforms( social media, in person, ect.. Personal chef services are still not seen as high quality maybe ? So finding people that understand the cost of groceries are at an all time high, the amount of work it takes to create custom menus for specialized diets all while making sure your consistent on your social media platforms is definitely a challenge
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Im a Personal Chef in the Dallas area that specializes in seasonal ingredients and dietary restrictions (gluten free, dairy free, whole 30, pescatarian ect) . Im most proud of the knowledge/experience I’ve gained to be able to cook across many different cuisines, no matter what diet one might be on and still make it flavorful and not like your missing out on anything. Im also an avid baker as that is how I first started getting into food was through baking, ive been fortunate enough to have other chefs in the Dallas area come to me for their baking needs as alot of chefs in the industry usually take up and focus on the savory side or sweet, not both.
Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
My favorite childhood memory would definitely have to be the thanksgiving which happened to fall on my 9th birthday. My late great aunt is a big part of why I like to bake so much and having her there, mom and dad as well as a whole bunch of other family members get together for a celebration like that is something I never forget. My grandmother made me a chocolate trifle as well which I still remember to this day how good and decadent it was.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chefkashawnw/
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@chefkashawnw?si=19cHntYEurPp9s8j
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/eats_elevated?igsh=MXgyM3N4YXdicHdvaA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
