"Strive not to be a success, but to be of value"
I am deeply honored to be on this journey with you all. From humble beginnings to chasing dreams, Well Kept Services has been long in the making even before I knew it.
My first cooking memory traces back to the summer of 1999, when I was around 13 years old in Macon, GA. I cooked scrambled eggs for breakfast – a seemingly simple task that I’d been too intimidated to attempt previously. The accomplishment filled me with pride and stoked a desire to perfect my breakfast-making skills, and later to conquer dinner recipes.
However, the transition from cooking breakfast to exploring different dishes surprisingly took a few years. My first culinary venture was baking fish, particularly tilapia. I chose this because it appeared easy and straightforward, but soon I realized that I needed to expand my repertoire beyond breakfast foods and baked tilapia.
In the years from 2001 to 2003, my father, an expert grill master, became my mentor during our weekend cookouts. I found myself fascinated by the process of grilling and smoking meats. The aroma of the wood burning, the marinade, and the ribs sizzling on the grill were captivating. These cooking sessions were reminiscent of classroom lessons – my father, the teacher, and I, his eager pupil, took mental notes of everything he did.
Fast forward from the early 2000s to around 2013, my life took a significant turn. I moved from Tuscaloosa, AL to Richmond, VA, and helped manage a Hugo Boss boutique while also participating in the styling of Richmond Fashion Week 2010-2011. During this time, I started experimenting with different recipes at home. Despite this, the idea of entering the food industry didn’t cross my mind.
In December 2013, the demise of my father led me to question my life’s purpose. I decided to return home and pursue a career as a firefighter. After graduating from fire college in 2015, I envisioned myself as a firefighter who owned a food truck. With my mother being a chef and my deep respect for cooks, I decided to enroll in a culinary school to understand the art of cooking better.
In 2017, I applied to Culinard at Virginia College in Birmingham, and for the first time in my life, I sought work in a kitchen at a place called “Side by Side” in Tuscaloosa, AL. I thoroughly enjoyed the dynamic learning environment where I could learn fish fabrication at work and later reinforce the same at school. This period was a challenging yet enriching phase of my life. Maintaining a 4.0 GPA average earned me a spot on the President’s List. Before graduation, I applied to Walt Disney World upon the encouragement of my teachers and was selected for their college program.
The summer of 2018 marked my graduation from culinary school and acceptance into the Disney program. It was a moment of choosing between continuing my firefighting career and chasing my dreams in the culinary world. I chose the latter and moved to Orlando to start my culinary journey.
At Disney, I had the privilege of working at various places, including Artist Point at The Wilderness Lodge, Sanaa at Animal Kingdom, and Story Book Dining for Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs. In February 2019, I found my culinary home at LUMA on Park Ave in Winter Park, FL. It was here where my cooking skills truly blossomed.
Around the same time, I began volunteering at the Edible Education Experience (EEE) by Emeril Lagasse. During the summer and after-school programs, I taught and learned from the kids. My experience at the EEE and LUMA helped me garner enough confidence to cater a business meeting, marking my first step into the catering business.
Despite the setback of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, I flourished under God’s grace. The Haitian community in Orlando welcomed
me, offering me multiple catering opportunities, and the EEE added me to their preferred catering list. From 2020 to 2022, I worked at Luke’s & The Osprey in Baldwin Park, steadily honing my culinary skills.
In November 2021, I got the opportunity to create a dish for Kris Moon, the President & Chief Operating Officer of the James Beard Foundation. This led to my application and subsequent acceptance into the James Beard Foundation Legacy Mentee Program in June 2022. The program boosted my confidence and led me to establish my LLC, Well Kept Services LLC.
I’ve always loved cooking and placing a piece of me in front of guests and clients because I love to create moments and memories with food.
Taking that leap of faith in starting my business set me on the path for opportunity. In October 2022, I catered a “Sip & Sense” dinner event, a highlight of my career. My efforts were recognized by Jordan Staggs, an editor for VIE magazine, who wrote a feature about me. Since then, I have been living my dream, constantly striving to create captivating culinary experiences that leave people in a state of satisfaction.
Thank you for your continued support and blessing!
I look forward to serving each and every one of you; let’s create memories!
– Chef Derrick
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