Chef and Culinary Instructor Kevin Mitchell

Chef and culinary instructor Kevin Mitchell joins Diaspora Food Stories from Charleston, South Carolina, to discuss how education along with great mentors and work experiences have shaped his career.

New Jersey native Kevin Mitchell knew from a young age that he wanted to be a chef.  Not a cook but a chef.

With a passion for food instilled in him by his grandmother, he says on the podcast, “For me, it is a very personal act to cook for someone and it is just that satisfaction when people leave the table and they are full and they enjoyed the meal.”

After a long and rewarding career working in the hospitality industry for companies such as Marriott International, Kevin became the first Black culinary instructor at Trident Technical College in Charleston, South Carolina.  

Knowing that representation matters, Kevin knows that just his presence as a Black instructor, an instructor of color, makes a difference to those who look like him and share the same cultural background.

To be successful as a chef today, Sheree asked Kevin if a formal culinary education is required. “That is always a sticky question to answer because I was able to do both.”

In 2021, Kevin teamed up with scholar David Shields to write “Taste of State – South Carolina’s Signature Foods, Recipes and Their Stories” and announced they will team up once again to tell the story of another southern state.

To hear more about his thoughts on culinary education, his upcoming book project and more, be sure to listen. You can follow Chef Kevin on Instagram and connect with him on Facebook.