Today we’d like to introduce you to Gason Nelson.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Funny story, I started my cooking career at Burger King. I was a junior in high school and my dad had just gotten me a car but I had to pay the insurance, so I started working at the neighborhood burger king. After high school, I joined the military as a cook and that is when I discovered my passion for cooking. I knew that this was what I was born to do and why God put me here on earth. By this time, I was certain I wanted to be a chef. The military was a great start but wasn’t challenging me in terms of what I wanted to do with my career. I finished my time and got out the military and returned to my hometown of New Orleans. I cooked at several different restaurants before I decided to attend culinary school. The culinary school opened so many doors for me and I just grew from there. I didn’t know it at the time but as I look back on it, I realize that God positioned me for what was next. I was put around by some amazing chefs and peers. While I was in culinary school, I was awarded the James Beard Scholarship for two consecutive years and had the opportunity to compete on the culinary team, was featured in commercials and on billboards for the school and graduated with several high honors. While I was in school, I noticed a note on the job board in the hall that said, “seeking personal chef”. At that time, I wasn’t very familiar with the personal chef world, so I was a little hesitant. The thing that won me over was the hours. They were asking for someone to come in daily from 4:30 pm to 7:30 pm to cook for 2 people and were willing to pay me more than I’d made in any restaurant I’d worked in, plus I’d be home at a reasonable hour. I was sold and this was the beginning of my career as a personal chef. A few years later Hurricane Katrina hit and I temporarily moved to Houston, TX only to get a call a year later inviting me to be New Orleans Saint Reggie Bush’s personal chef. I was with him for 8 years and we had a great run. He introduced me to so many people and because I was in that circle, I was able to branch out, travel and cook for so many other high-profile clients like The Kardashians, Will Smith, the late DeMarcus Cousins, Paul Walker, Dwyane “The Rock” Johnson, Matthew McConaughey and many others. I’m thankful and appreciative of my opportunities and blessings.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
My culinary journey is exciting and challenging like anything else in life. When you want to be great, and you are constantly grinding to be the best you can be it presents its own set of challenges. I am constantly working and traveling and when my daughters were younger, it was extremely challenging because it took me away from my family most of the time. I’m not the type who wants to miss anything my two daughters are doing. I want to experience every milestone. The stress has sometimes caused me to put myself in situations that weren’t good for me. For example, putting myself around alcohol was often done because of depression, stress, and anxiety, but doing so wasn’t in my best interest. I found out later all the hard work and the constant grind had caused stress and anxiety and thrown me into a state of depression. After suspecting I was dealing with depression and anxiety, I asked for help. I’m not afraid to ask for help, so I did, and it changed the way I moved forward, and I am now in a much better place in life.
Another challenge I found was social media. Social media changed the game, and everything is different now. Now I sound like an old man. But seriously, you never know what’s real and what’s not. Several people approached me for business opportunities only to find out later that the opportunity wasn’t all it was made out to be. I would say social media changed the game in a good way, but also in a bad way and it’s a challenge to sometimes recognize the difference between the two. Finally, travel can be challenging as well because I travel a lot and it is challenging to get to where you’re going, find purveyors, and places to cook. Even though that may be challenging nothing is impossible and we always make it happen.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I consider myself a good businessman because I am a team player and a leader who doesn’t mind getting my hands dirty. I’m always studying new and innovative ways to make my company better and surround myself with people who share my vision and want to drive the results forward. I take pride in the professionalism of my company and the staff I’ve chosen to represent me. In this fluid environment, you must be able to pivot at any time and keep your momentum and a positive attitude. My staff embraces that, because they understand the objective is to get the job done in excellence. I consider myself a creative person and am always open to learning new techniques and new equipment to make the client experience better. I enjoy searching for new restaurants to personally experience to pick up new preparation and presentation. The ultimate goal is to give the client an amazing dining experience.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
I couldn’t do this on my own. I have to give credit to my amazing team which consists of servers, assistants, sous chefs, chefs, a photographer/videographer, a social media specialist, a marketing guru, an accountant, several sponsors, and my chief of staff. They are the ones who make this plane fly, and I’m blessed to have them on my team.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.chefgason.com
- Instagram: chef_gason
- Facebook: gasonnelson
- Twitter: @chefgason
- Youtube: Full of Flavor with Chef Gason Nelson
Image Credits
Red Jacket with Knives – Gus Bennett
