Business and Industries
Randall’s story: a passion for sustainable food
Jerry's story: Finding my place and my people
I grew up in a military family where, I got used to moving about a lot—Philadelphia, Canada, England, Guam. I had known I was gay since 7th grade, but I kept it very hidden. I came out in the first year of college and I loved finding my own independence. I bought rainbow everything, feeling like it helped assert my newfound independence and freedom. When I went to college at Florida State University, I just wanted to get as far away from home as possible. I decided I wanted to be a lawyer to study international business, but I lost interest after just one semester. I changed my major four times— humanities, education, interior design. Ultimately, my mind wasn’t in the right place.
I came out to my parents in the third year of college. They were not accepting. They kept telling me it was a phase, that they were praying for me, we would get through this. We didn’t talk for almost a year. By this point I knew who I was, and I would not compromise that, even for family.
Through those trials and tribulations however, I found immense solace in cooking I would cook for my friends all the time at college, inspired by my mom who is incredibly creative in the kitchen. My partner at the time suggested I go to culinary school. I was skeptical, and admittedly tired of not figuring out what I wanted to do with my life.
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From cook to general manager
I did my internship in NYC, and once I graduated from culinary school, I moved to Dallas, Texas where it took me four months to find a job. It was much harder than I expected it would be with a culinary degree under my belt. But eventually I saw an ad for a line cook at a corporate office for Eurest. I had never heard of contract food service, but I loved the idea of no nights or weekends and with savings quickly running out. It turned out to be one of the most pivotal decisions in my career and in my life.
I was working for an executive chef who was, brilliantly, lazy. It sounds like a bad thing, but it wasn’t because he taught me everything, so he didn’t have to do it. Not just cooking but business acumen too. He sent me to regional meetings that normally only salaried managers would attend. And ultimately this exposure got me a promotion to an executive chef role at another location.
After this I went on to work for Guckenheimer where I was able to progress from executive chef, to catering manager in Houston Texas, and finally a general manager in Memphis, Tennessee. Because of moving all around the world as a military brat, every few years I got the itch for something new. When looking for my next step, I found Sodexo.
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I’ve found my niche, my place, and my people here.
