If you know me very well - you know I have at least 3 personalities and they all have names.
Red Jennings/Codec.Red - My well dressed Intelligent Student & Business Professional side.
My family calls me a sentimental name that I shall not reveal here
Blaze or Blazeagram - If you know, you know.
Hulk/Brock Lesnar or 2 piece - you do not want to know.
Sports me - my high school teammates, former coaches and rec cohorts know me as a super aggressive leader with outstanding fundamentals. I also have a passion for athletic videos, strategy & analytics.
There are more but you get the point
Now I am introducing Chef Blaze (Geez. Now that I think about it there will be a father me, husband me, coach me, etc!).
I am a very eccentric, complex and well-versed man. So my hopes are that you are interested in and entertained getting to know me & following my journey.
Chef Blaze is my persona where I enjoy and explore cooking and meal preparation in a unique way.
Cooking concoction concoctions in the kitchen keeps me content! After my freshman campaign at Eastern Michigan University, I moved out of the dorms and my meal plan days ended. Reality kicked in and it soon became apparent that it takes time, hundreds of dollars every month, replenishing effort, and constant attention to keep my stomach from growling.
Being an A- student, paying bills and investing in my future left only a little time to feed myself. I started out having cheap sides, snacks and microwaveable meals to satisfy my hunger. Then it became clear that those things don't keep you full for 3-4 hours and they are easy to overindulge, getting devoured too quick.
At that time, I was living with my girlfriend, Samantha. She started taking the initiative to feeding me like a king. Big steaks, fried chicken, neck bones and lamb chops were her go to. Her sides were always fine soul food and fun dishes like stuffed baked potatoes.
Before that, I had no formal training or hands-on experience for making dinner.
Though, I was very confident in my breakfast skills because I have been whipping up my own morning meals for 9 years since 2004.
As an early bird, I would be up every beginning of the day, smoking up the kitchen & dining area, in our Ypsi apartment. I eventually began creating my own dinners around the time I felt I was getting too fat and my relationship with Sam started crumbling.
Going grocery shopping together, helping Samantha in the kitchen, taking mental notes, and asking questions - was my first series of personal chef training. I never forced her to show me how to make things from scratch or cough up her recipes. It was a natural learning experience. Being blessed so many times with delicious dishes made from love, influenced me to enjoy a newfound curiosity for cuisine.
So I would make similar meals as hers. The main difference was I would bake my meat instead of frying them.
Samantha has always been super confident in her kitchen techniques. I think I remember her telling me she learned how to cook at age 7 and even cooked crack by age 12. When we were dating in high school she always prepared at least one of the dishes in her mom’s dinners. She was excited to hear my opinion, witness the smile on my face, hear my ‘m-m-mmmm’ and challenge her mom’s skills. There was pride and accomplishment in everything she cooked. It was cute and admirable.
While we were still living together it started becoming more clear that we would go our separate ways. I never stopped trying to help, provide advice, and present options for Sam to be successful. So much of her life was tied to me and I was hoping she can fall in love with key aspects of herself.
I suggested that she cater her instagram and online presentation around her cooking abilities. Even back then before skits and vlogs became mainstream, I knew that there will be endless opportunities if she built a reputation and lengthy portfolio of passionate, tasty eats.
I think I suggested she go by Chef Sam or Kelly the Cook, lol.
She chose not to heed my advice. I am sure if she did, she would have her own restaurant, recipe book, and popular cooking show by now.
I thought she would have fun showcasing her plates to the world.
But I am going to steal my own ideas back and start my path to owning a restaurant, publishing cookbooks, and running a successful food series by BIRTHING CHEF BLAZE.
I don't know about you, but I genuinely entertain myself by experimenting over the stove and inside the oven with whatever ends up in my fridge and pantry. Chef Blaze is more of a hobby than a business venture. It started as a necessity to feed myself while avoiding the same ol suppers, as I get bored quickly.
But expect a book and internet series in 2021. For now, I will upload shopping methods and individual step-by-step recipes on my blog.
The phenomena of Chef Blaze started in 2015. The saturated smells from my steamy stove tops formed a miasma of munchies that nabbed the nostrils of my roommates. I could be cooking hash browns and they would come downstairs to ask if I was making steaks!
I am sure that it was Cool Vaughn that was first to call me Chef Blaze and I ran with it. He got so used to waking up or coming home to me commanding the cooking area that it seemed like cheffing was my job. That same summer, we threw a big Ypsi music fest bbq and I fed everybody off the grill with meat slathered in my special sauce.
From the onset of my cooking endeavors, people always tried to inquire about or guess what specific ingredients, spices, and techniques I use. My mom raised me to closely safeguard my personal info and I really just didn’t want people stealing my sauce (pun intended).
In a joking and serious manner, I would frequently make it clear that I don't want people impressing their lovers with my own customized cook ups. I felt like, they should be making love to me because I am the one with the premium plates. Because once you win her heart with one of my methods, it’s going to be a fluke when you cannot follow it up with new, tasty creations. So either pass her to me, or stop asking.
My reputation for coming up with scrumptious servings solidified and soon my roommates and friends started paying me to cook for them. Of course at first, I would offer plates for free and those eventually got named ‘Blaze Meals’.
They never even knew what they were getting. When we were living in the Space Station, I started free-styling and experimenting every other day. We all just were assured it would taste great, while being some sort of mysterious mashup of healthy goodness. “Yo, how much I gotta pay to get a Blaze Meal?!”
But now I have changed. After memorizing and writing down most of my creations - I decided sharing and passing on my culinary creativity will be a great way to bolster my online journal while diving deep into one of my favorite personalities.
I hope we can become closer by exchanging knowledge and nurturing vibes.
Chef Blaze specializes in ghetto cuisine and non-traditional dining. Expect 85% of my recipes to be meals you never heard of before. I refuse to bore myself eating the same things every week. It is so refreshing challenging myself to come up with brand new concoctions.
Blaze Meals are unorthodox and open minded. Seeing as I never had any formal training, I use a lot of uncommon sense, creativity, and childlike taste buds.
Have you ever heard of the joke/meme that states, “we need some new animals. I'm tired of eating the same 3 types of meat.”
I am the real life, practical solution to that concern.
The groups of people that would benefit the most from Chef Blaze Recipes are:
*Bachelor pads
*Budget Shoppers
*Teenagers
*Parents with young boys
*Caretakers of Senior Citizens
*Hippies
*Those against red meat
*People who do not have time to cook huge, slow cooking meals
*Those New to cooking for themselves
*People that don't own microwaves
*Individuals wanting to eat healthier
I am so happy I found peace and success in my cooking capabilities and style. Most days I am excited to eat and cook (though I hate grocery shopping alone).
My wish is to spread my happiness and enthusiasm for cooking. Since we all NEED energy and nutrients daily, we should WANT to make it fun, interesting, and stimulating. You get in what you put out. So get in the kitchen with me and put in the work to achieve the lifestyle you deserve.
Stay tuned by logging into your google or facebook account on my blog. It will send you notifications every time I post a new entry.
My first 2 recipes I will upload are ‘Chef Blaze GoatMeal’ and ‘Magnum Wrapper’.
Thanks for reading. I cannot wait for you to tell me your experiences attempting these recipes!
I am an art director and content creator that specializes in video production, editing and creative writing. I will create or enhance anything you need, as far as digital content. My solo skills are outstanding and I also have a full team of top notch professionals. Please contact me at rednetworkpros@gmail.com to inquire about my services.