A Lil Bit About Me

Growing up in Middle Tennessee I learned everything I know about cooking from my family. I got my first taste of life in the kitchen working for my mother Wendy as she started a catering company named Heavenly Creations! The entire house bonded through food and service as we all pitched in to watch her visions come together on the weekends. That was a huge pillar of my childhood, but it was in the Fall of 2016 when I decided to take food more seriously. My culinary journey began in Mobile, Alabama at The University of South Alabama, where I would weekly deliver my home-cooked meals to the student body to earn a bit of extra cash. During this time I was also a college athlete majoring in international business, but nothing made me happier than seeing my peers light up every Sunday from something I cooked JUST for them.

During this time, my friends and the local community gifted me the moniker The Shirtless Chef!! I rocked the name for a while, performing cooking demos on the news, hosting local charity events, and publishing culinary content online – sometimes with a shirt, sometimes without ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ But nearing graduation, I wanted something more fresh and professional. It was these steps that led to the beginning stages of Chef Dev! Over time, this led to me packing my bags and moving to New York City in 2019 to intern in the test kitchens at the Food Network while honing my skills as a line cook at Marcus Samuelsson’s Red Rooster Harlem and culinary stagé Alex Guarnaschelli’s Butter Midtown. Looking back at it, I found myself in New York City. I didn’t know it at the time, but that year contained a handful of choices and relationships that went on to shape my life and career.

The ensuing pandemic quickly shut all of those doors and forced me to move back home to Nashville, TN in 2020. Almost NO restaurants were hiring at the time, so what better opportunity to start a custom meal delivery service?? After 12 months of hustle, Chef Dev had become my full-time job! Bookings began rolling in and before I could even think about it, I was confidently marketing myself as “Nashville’s favorite private chef”. Now, I have the privilege of regularly serving some of Nashville’s most awesome people – including tourists, athletes, and business professionals. I take pride in each and every opportunity to make someone’s special occasion a notch above the rest; and in my opinion, we do a damn good job!

Look, if all this seems like a lot… you’re right! But honestly, I wouldn’t want it any other way. I’m able to make an honest living by taking care of people and I’m in love with the process. So to make this story even crazier… What if I told you that we’re just getting started? 😉

 - Chef Dev

Soooo, What Do You Do?