Have the Will to Grow and Grow You Will: Cooked by Jeff Henderson - Essay Example

Essay, English Cooked by Jeff Henderson Title: Have the will to grow and grow you will! Introduction Jeff Henderson is a source of inspiration to that section of the society, where such inspiration is needed most. His book Cooked: My Journey from the Streets to the Stove is not a plot of cooked up fiction, but it is the story of real life struggles. He lives life in its trials, tribulations, duty and beauty. Nine years of his life is spent in a place where no civilized man would like to live. That a culinary mission by name “The Chef Jeff Project” is run after him now indicates the credential of this man, who began his life from the scratch. In the television program on The Food Network on Sunday nights Henderson gives details about his meritorious rise from the muddles of street life to occupy the post of Executive Chef at Café Bellagio in Las Vegas. Most of those who never had a chance to live a decent life, take to criminal activities and the same thing happened with Henderson. He landed in prison for dealing in drugs and prison kitchen became his college of self-education in cooking, where his mind became his Principal, his initiative his Professors, and his hard and intelligent work his Tutors. By the time he was released from the prison, he had identified his passion for cooking and had developed the requisite expertise, and challenged the world of success soon. Now he owns the company Posh Urban Cuisine where he trains such individuals who suffered more or less similar fate undergone by him, and he has provided them with the second start in life. They are not only trained in the cooking syllabus, Henderson teaches them what are love and compassion and the process of becoming good human beings. He trains them to become great cooks and noble individuals with purpose and dedication to serve the society. In this learning center, cooking is a mission, and it is not an avenue to earn only commission!(profit-oriented approach to life) A criminal is the most unwanted person and upon release on completion of his prison term when he makes efforts to join the mainstream society he is castigated and looked down upon as a mean individual. When none is willing to show concern for his welfare, when none is prepared to condone his sins even after the laws have punished him suitably, he becomes frustrated having failed in his efforts to build a new identity and start all over afresh . The inner core of every human being is essentially good, even that of the worst villain. It needs to be revealed to him to help him align himself with his true personality. When a prisoner is released, it is the duty of the society to support him to become a worthy individual and a respected citizen. Poverty leads most of the combustible younger generation to crimes. Jeff Henderson was another inner-city African American child born into the world of poverty with no or limited options to progress in life and such youngsters take to the path of crime easily. He got introduced to the reformation process within the prison. He perfected the art of cooking; rather excelled in it. His life was finished at the age of 25, before it had a chance to begin. The dangerous drug dealings led him to the prison, to serve a long sentence. After being there for nine years, he got an early release, and his job-search errands began and he secured employment commensurate with his talent as an expert cook. The series of interviews he had, resulted in total disappointment. Henderson writes, “Every potential employer I met with seemed only interested in the fact that I was a convicted felon.....A week into my search, every hotel on the strip had turned me down” (p.1). Recalling none such incident, Henderson writes about the interviewers telling him “We’ll call you when we’re ready. At the Paris Hotel, they were introducing me to my staff before I told them about my criminal record. Then they told me to take a walk” (2007, p.2). Under such grim circumstances anyone will become cynical, but that was Henderson, the tough individual, who had begun to master the art of converting defeats into victories. His fighting spirits lead him to the upward spiral in life. His transformation was miraculous. David Hinckley writes “What helps here is that Henderson has known some hard times himself. Prison is where he learned to cook, and when he got out, he landed a job as a dishwasher. He then worked his way up, turned it around and today is a successful executive chef, married with three children”(2008). Normally parents and senior family members teach positive qualities to the younger generation. Henderson was unfortunate on this count. He was introduced to the world of crimes by his larcenous grandfather. Big-time drug dealing brought him all materialistic comforts. But he was hotly pursued by the law of the land. His job at the prison kitchen and the expertise he developed proved to be his pathfinder. But the struggle to get established in life was a humiliating experience in the initial phase, until he overcame all the obstacles. Henderson recounts, “When I visited these properties, most of the people I interviewed with liked me. My cooking resume was impeccable, five stars across the board, but their enthusiasm had a way of drying up as soon as I told them I had spent time in federal prison for drug trafficking” (2008, 1-2). Out of the prison, he was facing a strange and cold society that held him at a distance. A wise man once said that when we think were rising in life, were really falling and when we think were falling, were really rising. Jeff realized that the process of getting assimilated into the mainstream of society, once released from the prison was not an ordinary job. The first reaction of the society is to reject such a person, without going into further details. Nobody likes the prison stamp. Nobody likes to take the risk in dealing with an ex-criminal. It goes to his credit however, that Jeff is candid about his mistakes. Highlighting the transformation of Jeff Henderson it is reported in KISRA that “Chef Jeff could have easily become another statistic. Instead, he learned from his mistakes and became not only a top chef, but an inspiration to many”(www.kisra.org). Utter poverty drives him into the drug den. He is not a habitual criminal. In the prison kitchen, when he sees that he has an opportunity to learn and reform, he accepts it enthusiastically. That shows Jeff is basically sound and industrious. In the course of interviews, he frankly reveals his past to his prospective employers. Jeff decides to face the realities of life. Notwithstanding his brilliant talents in the art of cooking, he encounters repeated rejections in the interviews due to his inglorious past. But he has no others alternative but to face the interviews again and again. On the day of his interview with the executive chef, at Café Bellagio in Las Vegas, he is prepared on all counts. He studies in advance the likings and food habits of the chef, which is Italian. He visits Caesars Italian restaurant, Terrazza to have Veal Milanese. He talks to some of the hostesses to get to know about the hotel politics. He makes the best possible preparations to face the interview. He takes the aggressive and confident stance during the interview, and is not apologetic about his past. He deals the interview process like an expert management student and emerges successful. He has mastered the art of facing the secular challenges of life with the experience gained through the series of interviews in which he fails, for no fault of his! And the question put to him by the executive chef, proves to be a qualifier for the post. "Mr. Henderson," he said. "Did you ever kill anyone?" Henderson agrees that the prison term is the best thing that could have happened to him. A chef is born through the process of dish-washing there! He realizes that no one is responsible for his plight, except himself. Therefore, he decides to change! Recalling one of the greatest moment of his life Henderson writes “That’s when I was issued my first legitimate Chef’s jacket. It read” Hotel Bel-Air on one side and “Jeffrey Henderson, Sous-Chef” on the other” (2007, p. 233). His ascent in the real sense of the term had begun. Conclusion I thoroughly recommend this book. Sociologists, the officials of the prison administration, the youth forums, the senior school and college students must read this book. Also, those NGO officials and staff working in the area of drug demand reduction, reformation and rehabilitation program launchers for the prisoners will get valuable information as to how a broken individual can recoup ones original mental frame and assimilate oneself in the mainstream of the society. From washing dishes in the prison to become executive chef at Café Bellagio in Las Vegas, is a big leap for which Henderson deserves congratulations! “Cooked," is a remarkable account of this remarkable man’s remarkable journey. It is a believable version of his life and his personal examples in his efforts to transform are worth emulating. It is easiest of the options to talk about going straight, but the actual performance is toughest of the options. But the details about his sex life and cursing should keep this book out of bound for children. The process s of becoming a functioning member of society from the life of ex-convict and attain culinary heights was an arduous task. It is an incredible story of challenging adversity. He tells the story without any pretensions, and he tells it for a cause. This story of transformation deserves a man like Henderson with compelling and attention-demanding personality and his conviction about adopting and moving in the right directions in life is not only a lesson for other convicts, but also for the prison administration in US and all over the world. These two words sum up Jeff Henderson’s life: Move on! Works Cited Henderson, Jeff. Cooked: from the streets to the stove, from cocaine to foie gras. William Morrow; 2007; Print. Henderson, Jeff. Cooked: My Journey from the Streets to the Stove. William Morrow Paperbacks; 2008; Print Hinckley, David. Food Network chef dishes up Chef Jeff Project - NY Daily News, October 10, 2008 www.nydailynews.com/.../food-network-chef-dishes-chef-jeff-project-art... Accessed on March 5, 2014 KISRA-Championing Positive Community Change. Cooking in the Capital with Chef Jeff Henderson - From the Streets to the Stove: Overcoming Diversity and Inspiring Others; Accessed on March 5, 2014 . Read More