Christan Willis, the Atlanta-based personal chef, and contestant on Pressure Cooker on Netflix shares her journey in the culinary world

Cox: Christan Willis you are your own lifestyle brand that specializes in so many different things. Can you tell our readers more about who you are and what you do? 

Willis: I love that, and thank you so much. I’m a personal chef here in Atlanta, a TV personality, and a brand ambassador. I work a lot with people and families. You know I’m all about making this harmonious synergy around Food and Life.  

Cox: Where did this love for it all come from, I know you have this multicultural background and were exposed to it all so early. 

Willis: I believe my love for food started at an early age since the age of 15. Food has always been a constant in my life. It was only amplified throughout my life by my love for creating things with my hands. So, I have an artsy vibe when it comes to food and my business. I have been painting all my life and still do. But I never knew I was going to get into this industry even though I always had a love for it until I got to college. 

Cox: Speaking of college what were your plans when you originally attended? 

Willis: I studied journalism at Georgia State. It’s crazy to think about it because I did my school news from middle school to high school. This is what I knew I wanted to do and I had a clear path when I went to college. I wanted to be a reporter, but that all changed when I started writing about food. 

Cox: After that epiphany what was next for you? 

Willis: So, I had a conversation with my dad about everything and he said if I wanted to do this why not go to culinary school? I was worried about the timing and time investment. He told me time was going to pass anyway so why not go for it? I took his advice and literally breezed my way through culinary school and did my internship at Disney.  

Cox: You hit the ground running when you got back to Atlanta. You worked your way up in the fine dining and food scene. Since the evolution of social media, I want to ask you; many individuals are calling themselves chefs. Do they need to be classically trained to call themself that? It’s always a debated conversation. 

Willis: You don’t have to be but you need the experience in the kitchen. That experience is so invaluable and you know how everything works from the front and back of the house and all there is in between. If you are going to call yourself a chef you need to be able to go into a kitchen and run it. So, if you have that knowledge (can be self-taught), experience, and that passion go for it. But if you are someone who just loves to cook and you put that behind your name it can be offensive to others because you have people who have put in that grit and those hours that make you a chef.  

Cox: The food industry is tough and you have built a name for yourself. How did you go about doing that? 

Willis: Building my credibility in this industry started with the basics. You know being in the kitchens at 15 I learned a lot and observed. It was this journey I took that helped me build a name for myself. I’ve been at the bottom of the industry where I had to take orders in the kitchen, but now I’m at a place where I’m in charge and I can be flexible with how I create and present food. Sometimes people have this misconception about me because of my social media presence and think I don’t know what I’m doing. But I have a huge backing from the chefs I worked under and the establishments I worked for.  

Cox: The food industry is still male-dominated! How has your experience been as a biracial woman? 

Willis: I’ve taken some Ls in this industry and had some humbling experiences because, as you said, it’s male-dominated. Through the adversities I had faced, I had to learn to stand on my own and leave jobs because I knew my worth. As a woman of color, we mustn’t just take anything. Especially now, we are at a point where it’s the year of the woman. We aren’t being quiet anymore; we know what we want and are going for it.  

Cox: What advice would you give to women who are afraid to speak up for themselves in the kitchen? 

Willis: Look I had a lot of no’s come my way but when the yes’s came those were meant for me. You will have to take those risks sometimes and push those boundaries. You have to keep trying. And remember you might look at something as a failure, but you have to remember failure isn’t forever.  

Cox: I want to get into your normal day as a private chef working for a client. Walk me through that.  

Willis: Well before the event my first thing with the client would have been a week or so of conversing about their needs. I find out exactly what they are looking for and then I put my spin on it. I take into consideration what type of party is this and what they are going for and my goal is to elevate it. So, leading up to the event I start with shopping and I try to go to as many farmers’ markets as possible to get fresh and organic produce and ingredients. This is a tedious party because I’m running through multiple locations. As a chef, you are at least going to four or five places. Then it’s about the prep work which can be between one or two days. Things I like to get done are my sauces, cuts, and marinated meats.  

“Day of the event, you have to be super laser focused. I always have my prep sheet with me and I check off everything. I know exactly where everything goes and where I’m going to put them.” – Willis 

Cox: With all those stores runs what happens when you can’t find the ingredients necessary for certain dishes? 

Willis: This is when being flexible is very important to being a chef. You have to know how to pivot and you can’t get stressed. It comes with the territory that stores might not have something or an ingredient might be seasonal. Chefs have to be able to adapt and think on their feet and if you can’t do both this might be the wrong profession for you.  

Cox: I love for our readers to learn from you. The biggest thing a private chef does is learn how to price things. 

Willis: Take it from me it’s trial and error. There was a time I wasn’t making a profit because the margins were too close to the cost of everything, and the time I had to invest in things. I would say know your place in your field. If you are a beginner, you will have to start with beginner prices, and don’t try to charge what you see someone else is charging who has put in those ten and fifteen years. Some people come into it wanting to charge at the top, and you don’t have to do that. You have to know your client and demographic. Figure out that niche because it’s so specific, and once you do you will be good.  

Cox: Thank you for taking me on your journey as a chef and giving me these amazing insights. Before we go if someone asked me how would you describe Chef Willis, what would I say? 

Willis: First, you would say Dynamic. There is nothing that I can’t cook. I’m a very dynamic chef and swift in the kitchen. My flavors are always going to be on point (smiles). And I’m super flexible, but I always have to go back to Dynamic because that’s my favorite word for how I would describe myself as a chef. 

Photos Courtesy of Christan Willis