We were lucky to catch up with Isaac Walker recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Isaac, thanks for joining us today. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

I think success is internal and based upon YOUR views. So when you ask what does it takes to be successful, that is depending upon your accomplishments and what you feel success is. For me, it takes patience, focus, time, and consistency. Success to me being financially free, building generational wealth and having the people I love and care about along with me. They say it’s lonely at the top but only because you didn’t bring your tribe with you.

Isaac, 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 don’t have your normal family story of grandmother helping me or Mom Dad or whoever showing me around the kitchen. My story came from me actually falling in love with cooking. All I can remember was wanting to get out of my mother’s house. And the Navy had the perfect opportunity for me, so I ran at the first chance I got to get away from my small hometown. Once I made a decision on the which job that I wanted to do or as we call it a rate, I spent 8 weeks in boot camp and six more weeks and ‘A’ school. Which is an advanced school for your particular rate then I pick my first order to go to Guam aboard the USS Frank Cable. It was there that my skills were honed and my love begin to grow for The culinary industry. I was blessed to have a supervisor that was the chef to one of the highest ranking of personnel in the Navy to become my mentor. The love and artwork that they begin to put inside of the food and show me how to do the same made me a better cook and Chef. As I begin to learn and grow as a young sailor I then took it upon myself to enroll into college and complete my degree in hospitality. And after meeting some of the best culinary instructors I think anyone could ask for, it showed me that I could and should take my culinary skills to another level, so after serving 9 honorable years in the United States Navy, I decided to become an instructor and proctor for ServSafe. After 3 years of successfully teaching managers and store owners how to safely handle foods I felt the need to jump back in the kitchen but this time I was going to do it my way. With many illnesses and diseases that run through our community I decided to focus on more healthier choices for us. And and so I became a private chef so that I could have that one-on-one time with my clients and eventually share my knowledge. “Why does healthy foods always have to be so disgusting?”, is a question that was frequently presented to me so I decided to change the perspective of what it meant to eat healthier. I’m a QOQ man, you know Quality Over Quantity, so as I began to build my brand I searched the state of Georgia the freshest and best ingredients to serve my clients. So I handpicked all of my ingredients from some of the best markets in the town and I pride myself upon providing the best dishes with the purest intention of of helping my clients achieve the goal of eating better and feeling better. The values that I learned from the Navy…Honor, Courage, Commitment…I have chosen to apply the same discipline to my business as I did as a sailor. I may not have the most reasonable prices around town but I guarantee satisfaction and proven results. Whether you’re looking for a customized meal prep, a petit flavored function or a private dinner for a couple or couples you can guarantee a hot good nutritional meal by Chef Izzo and if you’re lucky maybe a few laugh 😂… Oh and did I mention easy on the eyes lol!

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

So as I begin to advance in ranking and become a leader I had to unlearn what I had learned for 18 years growing up as a child from a small town. My mom used to have this saying: “do as I say, not as I do!”. You find out very fast that that doesn’t work on grown men and women that have a different background setting than you. Leaders lead from the front and direct from the back. After having an encounter with a Colonel of the US Army he taught me a valuable lesson of stand your ground mean what you say and deliver upon it. I didn’t think he expected me to stand my ground with him because of his rank but at the end of it all, I was gifted me with a coin and all my military counterparts know what that means but for those that don’t know, when you receive a coin from a high-ranking officer that means that he or she is very impressed with how you handled the situation of whatever the situation was and so that was my first lesson at becoming a a leader and in turn help me to fashion my into running my own business. With a little bit of patience and showing my guys that I would never ask of you something that I am not willing to do and/or cant. it has really giving me an advantage when handling different clients of different ethnicity, race or creed.

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

SHOWING UP AND SHOWING OUT!!! But on a serious note, I think providing high quality healthier food options and going above and beyond what the client actually expected.

Contact Info:

• Website: Under construction
• Instagram: @chefizzo_
• Facebook: Izzo Walker
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/isaacwalker86

Image Credits
Jamal J-South Bullock