Mar

9

From cocaine to foie gras…

March 9, 2007 |

A chef’s story.

henderson.jpg From a crack cocaine dealer making $35,000 a week in San Diego, to a convicted felon washing dishes on prison duty, to an award-winning executive chef at Cafe Bellagio in Las Vegas, Jeff Henderson’s journey has been a remarkable one.

In the process, he has become an African-American icon in the world of haute cuisine. His string of accolades include the American Food and Wine Tasting Federation’s Las Vegas Chef of the Year award in 2001, and recognition by the Black Enterprise magazine as one of of America’s top culinary figures.

His incredible biography, Cooked: From the Streets to the Stove, from Cocaine to Foie Gras has hit the stands.

An excerpt:

I went right into my hard sell, telling him that I was ready to go to work on the spot. I told him straight up: “Look, Chef, I’ve done some time. I learned to run a kitchen in prison. But my resume speaks for itself.”

I think he liked my aggressive approach. In Vegas, like in prison, you have to be tough to run a kitchen. If the cooks sense any sign of weakness, they’ll run you over, tell you how to do your f** job.

“Mr. Henderson,” he said. “Did you ever kill anyone?”

“No, sir.”

“All right,” he said. “I want you to cook me dinner on Friday. Write up a menu.”

I opened my briefcase, showed him the menu I’d already typed up and brought along with me, and told him that instead of giving me the usual ninety-day probation period, just to give me a month.

“That won’t be necessary,” he told me. “Just cook me a tasting dinner for six.”

That tasting dinner would be a tryout for the food and beverage executives. Six courses in sixty minutes would decide my fate and the fate of my family. It would be the most important meal I ever cooked.

I remember I had my game face on, moving up and down the line in that sprawling kitchen like a general on the battlefield, flames roaring from my stove.

After I served them an amuse bouche that came out perfect - a beautiful pan-seared U-10 diver scallop with a white truffle creamed corn sauce - my confidence was high. They were impressed. My timing was on point as I was plating the first course, a microgreen and roasted-pear salad with gorgonzola. I knew I had them on the ropes as I plated the next course, Hudson Valley foie gras served with warm minted pineapple. That’s when I realized my - foie gras had been sitting out for about thirty minutes and started to oversoften.

Two things you need to know about foie gras: It is incredibly expensive and absolutely unforgiving in its delicacy. Foie gras has the consistency of butter and can turn into a useless mush if left out in a hot kitchen. With a great piece of steak or even lobster, you can screw up and there are ways to cover it up so that no one will notice. That’s not the case with foie gras. Just like when you’re cooking cocaine, one miscalculation of heat can destroy your product.

Read about him here, here and here.

Chef Henderson’s Sweet potato soup with smoked collard greens and turkey.
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How to make samosas……
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Amma Mudda - the art of eating rice and dal……
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100% whole wheat no-knead bread……
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Whole wheat bagels……

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5 Comments so far

  1. asha on March 10, 2007 6:18 am

    HUHHH…!!!!

    Are you sure you want to try his food?!!! ;p

  2. bee on March 10, 2007 11:21 am

    my theory is that you should try everything in life atleast once. ;-)

  3. Sig on March 10, 2007 11:25 am

    So, what did he do with the foie gras? Now I have to buy the book… What an incredible story, thanks for featuring this.

  4. Sushma on March 10, 2007 5:11 pm

    That sounds interesting. I have subscribed to Fortune magazine and love to read about how people become enterpreneur…Real people Real stories…Your blog seems to attract with lovely topics…

  5. Shilpa on September 25, 2007 11:51 am

    Hi J and Bee
    You guys ROCK!!!You are truly the Alton Brown of Indian Blogging.You are meticulous writers/researchers and present content in the most unique and rewarding way.Readers will be hooked for Life!! At least I am!Have you guys done any writing on salts/Celtic salts/amount of salt intake per day?I cant find it o your site..just wondering…

    You have been my inspiration to go Organic and cook clean/bake you own bread.You seem to amazing garden growers too..Where do you guys find the time to be all this?Do you have a plan sheet/plan of action sheet a few months ahead?
    Happy Blogging!!

    thanks, shilpa. glad our blog is of some use to you. we will be writing a post on salt intake and types of salt in the near future. - b.

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