Today we’d like to introduce you to Morgan Ferguson.
Hi Morgan, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Born and raised in Silver Spring, MD; I developed a passion for cooking at the age of seven. I learned from my southern roots passed down from my mother’s side of the family. When I was younger, you would often find me in the kitchen with my grandmother & great grandmother watching and learning as much as possible.
In my senior year of high school, I enrolled in the professional restaurant management program and afterwards, I continued my education at the Hotel Culinary Arts & Tourism (HCAT) Institute at Anne Arundel Community College (AACC). While at AACC, I completed a five-month externship in the Amalfi Coast living in Positano, Italy. It was during this experience where my love for food and cooking really blossomed. I took this time to learn various techniques and develop a better understanding of the type of chef I aspired to become.
Once the externship was complete, I returned to Maryland and began my career at Fox’s Den Gastro Pub in Annapolis. I also spent some time staging at some of DC’s best restaurants at the time such as “Mirabelle” and “The Tabard Inn”. My last stint was at the newly opened ‘“Brothers and Sisters DC” with Chef/Restauranteur Erik Bruner-Yang at The Line Hotel in Adams Morgan, Washington, D.C. While working at the hotel, I began securing more private dining and small/large catering gigs as an extra source of income. After building a substantial client list, I decided that I wanted to fully transition into becoming a private chef.
I began to build my brand and market myself as one of the premier private chef/caterers in the DMV area. Shortly after making this transition to being a full time entrepreneur, I was able to achieve one of my first of many major milestones when I signed a deal to cater my first wedding and event of 200+ guests. This opportunity introduced me to many new clients both in the DMV area and in cities such as Miami, N.Y., and L.A. Because of that one event, I was able to secure clients such as NFL athletes such as Dwayne Haskins Jr, Chase Young, Montez Sweat and R&B Artist Ari Lennox.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Nothing about my journey has been smooth sailing. I didn’t have a plan when I quit my job at the hotel I just knew I needed more fulfillment out of life.
The inconsistencies with my schedule as an entrepreneur were a lot early on and I felt I had made a mistake by quitting my job. It was a little difficult for me to stay motivated with little guidance, having to make every decision for myself and trying to find ways to get my name out there more. At one point, I started off cooking for a lot of nightlife events throughout DC. These were a huge gamble because there was no guarantee that I would make any money back. In fact, a lot of times, I lost money so that made it even more difficult to stay motivated. I kept telling myself over and over that, “I was willing to go broke for it,” as a way of reminding myself that I was willing to do whatever it took to become the chef I had always dreamed of.
At one point, times had gotten so bad that I found myself crying in a Target parking lot trying to make sense of everything. But things always find a way to work themselves out. The following week, I was booked for a wedding in Miami. Since I would be in Miami for a few days, I shared on Instagram that I would be available for private dinning experiences if anyone was interested. Low and behold, that trip that was initially just for a wedding. Little did I know that a close friend of mine Jindu would contact me about my services and my trip would turn into a dinner for my first NFL client, Dwayne Haskins Jr., and ultimately change my life. After meeting Dwayne my life and my business took an 180 degree turn. I worked very close with Dwayne on a weekly basis for the majority of his food needs. When it came time for him to really focus on sculpting his body for the field, I curated a nutritional meal plan that paired perfectly with his weight training and practices. The meal plan combined with his hard work resulted in a loss of 20+ pounds. The opportunity to work with Dwayne allowed me to resolve some of my former business challenges while preparing me for new and beneficial challenges to come.”
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I pride myself on being a Private Chef because I like to craft unique experiences with every event. Each client is different and therefore will have their own requests and will require their own custom experiences.
My past experiences working in restaurants allow me to dabble in various cuisines. So, if a client is thinking of a special dishes, chances are I can make it happen for them!
I’m known for being able to exude good energy that adds to a great experience and I welcome everyone in the kitchen with me and want to make everyone feel comfortable – especially children. I try to involve children when possible because as a kid, it was never really “cool” to want to cook. I want to help children explore the option of potentially one day being a chef themselves.
I’m most proud of being able to say I stayed true to myself and did everything in my power to remain in my own lane. I never did this for the money. It was my love and passion for food that have had kept me successful in this industry. I think one thing that sets me apart is that I’m willing to do everything in my power to live in my purpose and chase this dream. I’ve told myself that giving up isn’t an option and I plan to always to my absolute best at every opportunity that comes my way.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
My family and friends deserve just as much credit as I do. I truly have a village behind me that has seen my progress over the years and still supports me out loud. Whenever I’ve had big events and needed a little support, my family members were the first to offer a hand. My dad has worked the grill and my mom has served food. I also work very closely with my two brothers and we do a great job using our networks to pour into each other’s success.
Two of my best friends Christian and Jordan lost their lives and I was never the same, they were both a huge part of why I’m so confident in my abilities. Christian was the one who convinced me to quit my job at the hotel so I’m forever grateful for him. One of my main goals is to make not only them proud but my family and friends proud while doing what I love.
Contact Info:
- Email: chefmorganjames@gmail.com
- Website: Chefmorganjames.com
- Instagram: Chefmorganjames
- Facebook: Morgan ferguson
- Twitter: Chefmorganjames
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCLt5foW6vPkB9mAkEDnHbRA
Image Credits
Morgan Ferguson (myself)
