Printable Biography of Jeff Henderson

---

South Central Los Angeles native Chef Jeff Henderson is an award-winning chef and public speaker who has trained under some of the most talented chefs in America and Europe.  Currently the Executive Chef at an upscale restaurant in a premier Las Vegas resort, his remarkable life story of going from crack dealer to top chef has made him a star in the kitchen and the media. He has recently been featured on Oprah, Good Morning America, NPR’s All Things Considered, and in USA Today with the publication of his memoir Cooked: From the Streets to the Stove, From Cocaine to Foie Gras.

Growing up in South Central Los Angeles and in San Diego, Henderson knew crime at an early age. Raised by a single mother, who worked as a welder to try to support her family, he needed money and the cash selling drugs offered was too tempting to resist. By age 19, he was running a million-dollar cocaine operation. Eventually arrested and incarcerated, he spent almost a decade in federal prison. During this time, he realized that being locked up had saved him and he discovered his passion for cooking while doing kitchen duty. He went from preparing crack to cuisine and in the process found a way to turn his life around. Once out of prison, he channeled the same intense ambition that had nearly ruined his life to help him rise to some of the best kitchens in the country. But as a convicted felon and a black man in the world of haute cuisine he had to overcome many challenges.

Henderson began his professional career cooking at many influential restaurants including Gadsby’s, L’Escale, The Dining Room at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Marina Del Rey, Zing, and The Good Bar. He went on to become a sous chef at the world-renowned Mobil 5-Star Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles as well as at the Mobil 5-Star L’Ermitage Hotel in Beverly Hills.

In 2000, Henderson continued his rise, making history in Las Vegas as the first African American named a Chef de Cuisine at Caesars Palace. He was later promoted to an Executive Chef and has since held that position at several top restaurants in Las Vegas and Los Angeles. In 2001, the American Food and Wine Tasting Federation named Henderson “Las Vegas Chef of the Year.”

Henderson has been honored as one of the top African-American chefs by Black Enterprise magazine. HarperCollins is publishing his memoir, Cooked: From the Streets to the Stove, From Cocaine to Foie Gras, and he is in discussions with production companies and networks to produce his story and star in his own reality show.

A highly visible mentor and motivator, Henderson provides a voice of change, inspiration, and transformation for hardscrabble youth and adults. He has made it his mission to reach out to those who could benefit from his example. Henderson frequently speaks to youth and adult groups about how he overcame his own problems, extolling the virtues of hard work, determination, and passion. His belief in giving back to society has led him to contribute his skills as a chef at the 90th Anniversary NAACP Dinner Gala celebrating Brown vs. Board of Education, the 3rd Annual Travis Smiley Foundation’s “Salute To Youth Leadership” gala, and the 2003 Black Enterprise Magazine Cover Party honoring the top successful African Americans under 40.

Henderson’s cuisine and community programs are in great demand with Henderson speaking to corporations, non-profits, educators, schools and youth about not making the mistakes he made and giving them hope so that they too can get their life on the right track.