Bite off more than you can chew – then chew it

Bite off more than you can chew – then chew it!” I heard this quote by Camilla Ella Williams, a famous opera singer who became a professor later in life, back when I was at culinary school. This quote is my life motto and there couldn’t be a more relevant way to describe my career story to date.

My first job, at age 15, was at a family buffet restaurant stocking the trays, cups, and silverware. I later asked to be transferred to the kitchen as it seemed like that was where all the fun was. I moved from salad bar prep, to hot buffet then on to the main kitchen and the deep fryer and eventually the chargrill. At 17 I moved to a job at The International House of Pancakes (IHOP) where I worked the main grill and sometimes ran the full kitchen.

It was at IHOP that I learned that I could pursue a career in this field. Many of my colleagues would make sure that I was the one preparing the food that they wanted for their lunch or dinner breaks because my food looked like the photos on the menu and tasted good too.

I briefly pursued a degree in Fine Arts, but I soon realized that art in that sense wasn’t for me. I left art school and felt a bit lost, working odd jobs. But my pastor, who had become like a father-figure to me, encouraged me to follow my passion (which I defined as Art and Food). He told me to decide on a Culinary school and GO!

I first heard about Sodexo while at Culinary School at the Art Institute of Atlanta, through my girlfriend at the time (now wife) who was a happy customer of Sodexo food provision in her office building.

During a career fair at school, I noticed a table with the Sodexo logo. At the table was an African American gentleman who caught my eye. This struck me because this was the first time that I had seen someone who looked like me in a leadership role of a large foodservice company. His name was James Winkler and with him was an Executive Chef, who it turns out was the Executive Chef of the office building where my wife worked. I was offered a temporary opportunity to join the team in Atlanta. This was the only table I visited that day. I was sold.

A blossoming career with Sodexo

After graduating culinary school in December 2001, I joined Sodexo in January 2002 as a grill cook. After my first week, the General Manager, Edward Morgan, offered me a full-time position, which I accepted. I progressed at this location before moving to a larger account as the kitchen supervisor of a conference center. At the conference center I took on my very first real chef job.

From there, my career began to blossom...

I led teams as the Executive Chef of a number of accounts, giving me the opportunity to lead larger teams and provide fine dining service.

I became district executive chef for the 92 public schools in Atlanta followed by director of culinary services for the Culinary Solutions team. Here I had the chance to be involved with the national culinary team, recipe development, training, and special programs, with one of those programs being North America’s Global Chef Program.

During my time with Sodexo, I was selected to support at the 2007 Rugby World Cup in Paris, France and the 2012 Olympics in London, England. Outside of Sodexo, I am also proud to be a cookbook author.

Today, I am Director, Culinary Training for Service Activation in North America. I love working with our chefs around the world, creating tools which help them to do their job and helping them to reach their career goals.

Being a visible culinary leader

I also think it is really important to be visible as a leader in the culinary world. I saw culinarians that I respected grow their careers to the corporate staff level at Sodexo. This inspired me to grow my career to that level as well. Being a member of Sodexo’s African American Leadership Forum and serving two terms as the chair of the Atlanta Chapter gave me the confidence that I could also be a leader outside of the kitchen.

I think that preparation coupled with the support of my mentors and managers helped me to get where I am today. Having leadership that believes in you and trusts you is some of the greatest inspiration there is.

One of the biggest hurdles I’ve overcome in my career is learning not to care about peoples’ misconceptions of me as a person, or my qualifications. Many times, I’ve had to navigate the question of, “How did you get your job?”, which may not seem like much to others, but I know what’s meant deep down. It’s generally followed by a train of questions to gauge my knowledge and level of experience. Although it can be exhausting, I overcome it by reminding myself of who I am and what I’ve done to get to where I am. Nothing has been given to me, but I’ve earned it, and I don’t need to prove myself to anyone.

My message to culinary managers is to give diverse chefs genuine consideration for the opportunities that they apply for.

To succeed, do your current job well

If you are pursuing a culinary career, I think the first thing to realize is that you don’t know everything, and that’s okay. Being teachable, eager to learn, and brave enough to make mistakes is key.

Networking and volunteering for stretch projects can also be a benefit to your career. You should share your career aspirations with people of influence in your network, and people that you trust, so that when opportunities arise, they have you in mind. Your career can grow in directions you never imagined but the people around you will help you to figure out your next steps.

Most of all, it is very important to do your current job well. Team leaders want people on their team that they can trust with the technical aspects of the job as well as representing the team’s brand in a positive light. Focus on being someone who is dependable, trustworthy, and one who treats everyone with the respect that they deserve.

Find out more about ... a career with Sodexo!

 

This article was created by Desmond Fannin, Director, Culinary Training for Service Activation, Sodexo North America