The lifelong career I never planned for…

James Shirley
About the author : James Shirley

Executive Chef III, Sodexo USA

Published on : 4/13/22
  • If I had to give the next generation of culinary hopefuls a single piece of advice, it would be this: Do not limit yourself. I had, what many may consider, an unconventional start to my culinary career. As a music major in college, I had big plans to become a drummer in a band ౼ to be a part of the next Earth, Wind and Fire. But as the old saying goes: if you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans.

    Forging my own culinary path

    The first kitchen I worked in was in a 5-star Italian restaurant in Chicago. It was a side job I took to make some money while in school. Without any formal training and zero culinary pedigree, I quickly became the laughing stock of the kitchen. But I kept coming back, day after day, and the next thing you know, I’m speaking Italian and bouncing around the Levy restaurant chain’s high-end dining rooms. I worked my way through the ranks and eventually decided to enroll in culinary school. For quite some time I continued in restaurants and honestly never even considered working for a contracted food service company. That is, until one day, after gaining knowledge and experience from chefs around the world, a Sodexo district manager saw something in me and brought me into the fold.

    A new take on classic dining

    I started working for Sodexo US back when the company was still called Sodexho Marriott! At the time, they were reinventing the wheel in the schools market. We set out to transform campus dining rooms ౼ leaving behind that old blue hairnet and the heaps of food sitting in metal pans. Sodexo was really ahead of the curve in realizing that in order to have restaurant quality food, they needed to hire executive chefs. 

    I was recruited to be an executive chef at Concordia University, one of the first accounts to carry out Campus Crossroads, Sodexo’s new vision. I didn’t know it at the time, but taking that position would propel my career like a rocket. This concept of restaurant quality food for college kids blew up, and Sodexo pioneered it. It was really something to be proud of. We were the model account to show how the Campus Crossroads program would be run and representatives from different colleges, deans and provosts started coming in to see what we were doing. It was the talk of the town.

    When I first joined Sodexo, honestly I thought I would get bored at some point, but it was everything I looked for and more. Over the years, I’ve moved around a lot within the company ౼ I worked in Corporate, in a senior living facility, in Chicago hospitals and I was a district area chef for K-12. In particular, working in senior living really changed my whole concept of dining. It wasn't just mashed potatoes and peas for the elderly ౼ we were serving great food and delivering a real experience.

    Inclusive dining

    We live in a world that has definitely taken a few steps backwards at times, but foodwise, it’s taken so many steps forwards. One thing I’m particularly proud of is the way that we have been able to integrate inclusivity and diversity into our food and our menus. Think about the advancements we’ve made in terms of vegan options and plant-based foods, for example. Before, special dietary needs were considered to be obsolete or ostracised. Today, we have allergen-free food stations, Mindful Mondays, dining options that avoid the “Top 8” allergens. We make food for everyone on the planet ౼ and we do it in an inclusive way. You can be gluten intolerant and you don’t have to feel “different,” you don't even have to tell anyone because there are dishes designed just for you ౼ dishes that everyone else likes, too.

    To Hawaii and beyond

    Most recently, I was brought over to be a senior level executive chef at The Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. Thinking back to when I started out in high-end restaurants, I was the only black guy in the kitchen. In fact, I had never even seen a black executive chef until I was 10 years into the industry. When I first got the opportunity to be an executive chef, I thought to myself, this says a lot about the company’s openness to diversity. Here, moving up the ladder and moving on to new things is based on ability and not on the context and the color of your skin.

    And I’m not done yet! I still have a lot of years left, and a lot more to give back. One of my biggest goals is to work for Sodexo overseas ౼ I really would like to get over to Europe and work in the home countries of chefs who I’ve admired over the years.

    Find out more about… a career with Sodexo!

    This article was created by James Shirley, Executive Chef III, Sodexo USA

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