We were lucky to catch up with Kameron Wilkerson recently and have shared our conversation below.

Kameron, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What sort of legacy are you hoping to build. What do you think people will say about you after you are gone, what do you hope to be remembered for?

This a question I actually think about often. When it is all said and done I want to go down as one of the greats if not the greatest, but I also know what comes with that. I want to be known as the chef that did great things but through it all he always did it his way. That part is very important to me. I chose this path over a corporate job because I get to create my own reality. I get to narrate the story for myself and show that there is power in doing what you love. I told myself that part of my dream was that I wanted to be the private chef for pro athletes and entertainers and I’m already doing that. Now that I’ve accomplished that I am focused on expanding into meal prepping more and seeing where that aspect of cooking can take me. I also want to be known as someone who used his gift to give back to his community and make others happy. I’m currently working on a project that’ll help me achieve that as well. I want cooking to be something that I can pass down to my unborn children as well. I want that to be something that we can always bond through. Finally, I want my overall legacy to be that no matter what I gave it my absolute all. That I left it all in the kitchen.

Kameron, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I grew up in the with my grandmother, uncle, and mother in Dallas, Texas, South Oak Cliff to be exact. Growing up in my early years I spent most of my time with my grandmother, especially when she was cooking. My grandmother grew really close because there was a time when my mother was working two jobs to provide so I didn’t see her as much as I saw my grandmother. The first thing I learned how to make was a lemon pound cake. From there I would always continue to help her prepare food for the family during holidays. This continued until I was 9 and my grandmother had a stroke and was never the same. After that I quit baseball for a year to be able to help take care of her while my mom worked. So during that time I prepared meals for her with the help of one of my older cousins and this continued until late 2010 when my grandmother passed. From there it would be years until the next time I took cooking serious. It wasn’t until my senior year of high school when my mother had two knee surgeries and couldn’t get around well when I picked up cooking seriously again. Once she got well it wasn’t until Sophomore year of college when I took it seriously again and it wasn’t until the following year when I quit my full time job and created Kam Kooks.

I am most proud of my ability to cook through whatever I am going through and it does not affect my quality of work. I can be under the weather, anxious, or depressed and I can still preform in the kitchen. One of the first things my grandmother taught me in the kitchen was to never serve someone a plate you wouldn’t be happy paying for yourself. I live by that quote every time I step foot in the kitchen.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

About two years ago I was diagnosed with severe anxiety and early onset depression. Even though I feel I have learned to deal with it in better ways, this is something I struggle with each day. My stress and anxiety have gotten so bad at time that it causes health problems that have landed me in the hospital. However, I understand that I have been blessed with a gift so no matter what I do my best to still share that gift with the world.

Early March of this year I was in the hospital for something I rather not speak on but I will say it caused me to lose 15 pounds over night. I went from 172 to 157 in just a few hours and I felt so weak that I could do much of anything with out feeling completely gassed afterwards. I was in the hospital for a day and that next morning about 10 hours after I was release I had to prepare to cook for one of the biggest food bloggers in Houston, @EricEatsHTX . I just remember praying to God to help me put together enough energy to put together the best plate I possibly could at the time. Through the grace of God I was able to do just that and he ended up being very impressed with he meal I put together. My friend Pierce Washington (he’s an artist you should definitely check out on all streaming platforms) referred to it as my “Flu Game” haha. Just to be clear though I did not have the flu nor did I endanger Eric in any way while preparing the meal.

P.S.: I’m doing this interview while I’m calming my self down from an anxiety attack right before I have to go cook for my biggest client. I think that alone illustrates my resilience.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

Cooking was defiantly just a side hustle to keep money in my pocket while I was in school. However I just fell in love with it out of no where. There was a several month period where I was cooking at least 1-2 meals each and everyday. I know my roommates were sick of me in the kitchen but they were also very supportive. I had friends like Alex, Lamar, & Dakota who would always needed to get a food truck when I graduate. My mom even said she would go half on it if I wanted to do that. However, my real dream is to be a private chef for my favorite players and entertainers. I have two business degrees and I have yet to use them at a job.

One day when I was applying and doing interviews there was a NBA player on the Mavs who tweeted that they needed a chef in Dallas and the homie Kasim tagged me in the tweet. Once that happened more of my friends tagged me and posted pictures of the food while tagging the player. At that point I knew it would be between me and this other chef who cooks for a few of the cowboys players (S/O him though, he’s a legend in his own right) and the NBA player ended up DMing me later that day and chose me. So now I am a personal chef for a guy who plays on my favorite team. There are just some doors that only God can open and close and this was one of them.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: kam.kooks
• Twitter: kamkooks

Image Credits
Pierce Washington (logo)