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The Journey from Prison Cook to Executive Chef at Bellagio
By Alex Cole
At the time, Henderson thought his life was over. And in
a way, he was right. He began a journey of education and
introspection while incarcerated in federal prison that led to
a remarkable transformation.
He met inmates who exposed him to books about Black
history and culture. He started to realize the destructive effect
selling drugs had on his community and how his bad choices
landed him in prison. Hanging with fellow inmates who had
been businessmen and stockbrokers, Henderson started reading
the newspaper, realized he had intelligence, drive and people
skills to make him successful in a legitimate field.
Assigned to kitchen duty, he found he enjoyed making food
that others liked. He started learning how to make rolls from
scratch, lasagna and perfect fried chicken according to another
inmate’s secret recipe. He also counseled teens who were
wanna-be gangsters to choose a better path.
While in prison, Henderson read about a famous Black chef
named Robert Gadsby who had a restaurant in L.A. Henderson
decided he wanted to work there when he was released.
Gadsby wasn’t interested in a big ex-con with an earring. But
Henderson persisted, and the chef gave him a shot, teaching
him the principles of fine cuisine and personal development.
Working with Gadsby as his mentor, he cooked for
celebrities such as Laurence Fishburne, Madonna and
Stevie Wonder. Henderson went on to work at the five-star
Hotel Bel-Air and the L’Ermitage, learning from French chefs
along the way.
Las Vegas was a tough market to crack though, until an
executive at Caesars Palace gave him a break. Henderson
became the first African-American Chef de Cuisine at Caesars.
Next he set his sights on what he calls the crème de la crème
of Las Vegas resorts: Bellagio.
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