We caught up with the brilliant and insightful DeAndre Smith a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi DeAndre, thanks for joining us today. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

The biggest risk I took in my career was literally just “Starting.” I had no clue on how to start my business, all I knew was that I wanted to become a private chef. I placed my self in the position to be mentored by some of the most amazing chefs Colorado has to offer. During this time of my career I have as working in a completely different industry and one day I woke up an decided that I was going to make this my life long job. Now eight years later this was the best decision that I ever made.

DeAndre, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Denver-based chef DeAndre Smith (Chef Cool Dre) has been honing his skills in Southern cuisine since the beginning of his career. As the Executive Chef and Owner of Rueben Brown’s Kitchen, a catering company in the Denver Metropolitan area, he takes passion in creating traditional flavors with a modern twist!

In just under 10 years, he has established himself as an acclaimed, well-respected chet in the city and throughout the West Coast. He first rose to prominence when he won his first nationally recognized cooking competition in Chicago, earning the title of “Channel Your Inner Chef.” Chef DeAndre is also the Owner and Founder of Chef Cool Dre Private Chef Service.

“My main inspiration for cooking comes from my grandmother, Deborah Brown.
She was always there for me, teaching me things around the house when I was younger. She taught me how to garden, bake, and break down whole bucks of chitlins. I was never too far when she was making her family-famous holiday sweet potato pie or frying up some Southern fried chicken. The source of my cooking stems from these precious moments with my grandmother. She taught me to be patient and to take care of and feed my family. ”

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

The number one thing that helped me build my reputation with all of my past and current clients. Is providing them with an experience that they could not get anywhere else. I understood that if I could provide a solution to my clientele at a reasonably priced amount I could have them on my books. I learned that there was an untapped market for true comfort food here in Colorado. I also understood that Colorado was a hotspot for winter trips.

My reputation became known for traveling to the mountains to cook for the black community during their ski trips. A lot of my clientele Would visit from down south and a lot of them wanted comfort food. If you know anything about Colorado, we don’t have too many soul food restaurants. I was able to build my reputation in a market that was non-existent.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

The number one lesson that I’ve learned in my career and as a business owner “ Is that I don’t know everything.” I have struggled and succeeded throughout my business. I had to learn that being flexible is the key to understanding.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://ruebenbrownskitchen.com/
• Instagram: @chefcooldre
• Facebook: I am Chef Cool Dre
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@chefcooldre?si=og0aNTtlXOSA2kkW

Image Credits

Photo credit:

– Food Network chopped photo: ( Food Network)
– Strawberry croissant photo: ( Julien Renaut,Shae Elizabeth, La Bella French bakery )
– Chef Cool Dre team & Ciara photo: Alfred Johnson owner Alfred Shoots
– Black and gray photo: ( I’m Hewitt photography )