I mean, food just elevates so many different things”
Casey Jones
Meet Casey Jones, 26, a motivated and charismatic chef based in Columbus, Ohio. He graduated from Bradford Culinary Arts school in 2019 and has been serving the Columbus Community ever since.
Cooking is Jones’ safe haven no matter how his day is going. “I feel like I’m just at peace,” he said. Jones also thrives on the impact food has on people. “Food can definitely change the dynamic of the household,” said Jones. “You can go from a bad day to a good day, you can go from a crappy business meeting to a happy business meeting. I mean, food just elevates so many different things. That is my savior for sure.”
Influences
As a Pittsburgh native, Jones was inspired by his grandmother and uncle (who also happens to be a chef). “They always kept me in the kitchen. My grandma would always ask me what I wanted to get from the store. My uncle was always cooking when I was young, he would always have family gatherings and I would always sample his meals,” he said. “My uncle’s cooking also motivates me because we stay up on each other’s work.”
Jones is motivated by entrepreneurship to continue his journey as a chef. “Working for myself motivates me because I don’t want to go back to working for anyone else.” He values having a black-owned business that allows him to thrive off of his creativity. Entrepreneurship has taught him discipline with time, organization, and money management. He is more knowledgeable on what it means to invest in his business. Jones took a financial risk embarking on entrepreneurship. “I started this with no money, that was a big risk right there,” he said.
Insight
One of his strengths as a chef is grilling. He has overcome having the ability to cook large quantities of food. “When you cook in big quantities, you want the repetition to be there. I used to just cook 1 to 2 slabs of ribs at a time, now I can cook 10 to 12 ribs at a time and they all come out perfectly.” Jones believes prepping is the biggest key factor in many things. Something he would like to strengthen is his baking skills. “I want to be able to be diverse with everything.”
Jones wants his supporters to be inspired to cook more often. “I want people to see that what I do isn’t hard, it’s more so creativity and a little bit of time.” He believes food is a relationship builder and values the connections he has made through cooking for others.
If you are in the Columbus, Ohio area please DM @_chefcase on Instagram for inquiries about catering or placing a weekly meal order. Be sure to follow him!
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