Sodexo Co-sponsors First African American to Be Named Chef de Cuisine at Caesars Palace and Motivational Speaker Jeff Henderson to Speak at NCCU

Sodexo sponsored Jeff Henderson, a motivational speaker and an award-winning chef, as a speaker at North Carolina Central University (NCCU) on Thursday, April 5th. The event was hosted by the NCCU Department of Hospitality & Tourism Administration. The speaking engagement was a historic moment because NCCU was the first Historically Black College and University where he spoke. An award-winning chef, Henderson made history as the first African American to be named Chef de Cuisine at Caesars Palace Hotel in Las Vegas, and is currently executive chef at the Bellagio Casino and Resort in Las Vegas.

Henderson’s book, Cooked: From the Streets to the Stove, from Cocaine to Foie Gras, made The New York Times bestsellers list. On February 17, 2007, he was honored with the prestigious James Lewis Award by the Black Culinary Alliance. Henderson has also appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show.

Henderson was an inner-city black kid born into a world of poverty and limited options, where crime seemed to provide the only way to get out. Raised mostly by his single mother, who struggled just to keep food on the table, he dreamed big. He had to get out and he soon did by turning to what so many in his community did: dealing drugs. But Henderson was no ordinary drug dealer: By twenty-one, he was one of the top cocaine dealers in San Diego, making up to $35,000 a week. Two years later, he was indicted on federal drug trafficking charges and sentenced to almost twenty years in prison. He was assigned to one of the least desirable prison jobs: washing dishes. That job helped turn his whole life around. It gave him access to the prison kitchen, and he became fascinated watching his fellow prisoners cook for the thousands of other inmates and prison officials. Henderson learned to cook in prison. Not cocaine, but food, and his dream was born once he was released: He would become a chef.