When Chef Jeff Henderson talks, kids listen. On Thursday, Sept. 22 at the Juvenile Intervention & Faith-based Follow-up (JIFF), Baptist hosted CityCURRENT’s reception highlighting the nationally known Food Network chef’s unique style of reaching youth: in the kitchen.
As he moved around the kitchen, Chef Jeff mesmerized the audience with his personal story about life on the streets, a decade in a federal Los Angeles prison, and his discovering the culinary arts that eventually saved him.
“I was in the federal system in L.A. for a decade,” he told the audience. “I had someone tell me ‘You’re a smart guy, a real business man. You just need to change your product.’ I started out cooking in prison, and since then, I worked hard to learn everything I could,” said Jeff.
As the youth assisted him in making homemade macaroni and cheese with spicy Andouille sausage, Jeff walked them through kitchen etiquette, relating all his moves and thoughts. “There’s a science behind what I’m doing. Just like we were casing out on the streets, when I get to a kitchen, I start casing out everything.”
Following the cooking demonstration, Chef Jeff gave a formal talk to a room crowded with youth, staff, elected officials and Baptist team members. Always motivational and 
uplifting, Chef Jeff encouraged the teens to understand that “nobody is bad.” Noting he didn’t have a positive male role model during his young years, Chef Jeff encouraged the audience to consider their individuality. “A gift is something we all have. Find your own gift and practice it.”
Sixteen-year-old Simoris visits JIFF on Tuesday and Thursday every week. “They help us do things like fill out applications or mentor us,” he said. One mentor, Timothy Jones, works full-time at Christian Brothers University and mentors about 12 youth. “It’s important for us to give them our story,” said Timothy.
CityCURRENT’s reception was hosted by Baptist and JIFF Inc. Originally known as the Lipscomb Pitts Breakfast Club, the organization rebranded as CityCURRENT in 2016.