Chef Wenford Simpson
Armed with an international
Chef Wenford Simpson
Armed with an international
Chef Wenford Patrick Simpson Armed with an international flare and a penchant for comfort food, Chef Patrick quickly disarms you with his charm and tenacity for excellence. Imagine a food experience like no other. A dish bursting with infused spices, tender cuts and the freshest herbs. My passion is to take you on that journey of flavors...Each taste entices, but satisfies; tempts, but fulfills...
Your dining experience awaits, only to be found at the tables of...
ABOUT
Chef Wenford P Simpson
ABOUT
Chef Wenford P Simpson
Chef Patrick began cooking as a young child in St. Ann’s Parish, Jamaica. In high school, he interned at Club Caribbean and was offered a job immediately after graduation. He worked in several resorts and then took his talents to the seas, working for the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line and Disney Cruise lines. After returning to the land, he settled in New York City where he took the Executive Chef position at Negril Restaurant.
Chef Patrick now delights customers at B.B. King Blues Club and Grill and the Highland Ballroom in the heart of New York City. When he isn’t in the kitchen overseeing anywhere from 40 to 50 people, he’s handing out samples in Times Square or giving presentations in Bloomingdales or Macy’s.
Chef Patrick pushes the boundaries in the kitchen, creating a truly unique dining experience born out of Caribbean spices, Southern cooking and an American flair. Each dish he creates is a work of art, not only in flavor combinations, but on the plate as well.
Customers, co-workers and peers all agree that Chef Patrick’s demeanor is as palatable as the food he creates. Known for his mild-mannered approach in the kitchen, he is hailed for drawing out the best in everyone he encounters.
Everyone is treated with respect and equality, from strangers to celebrities. No one is exempt from his genuine buoyant personality.
Pull your chair up to his table; get your knife and forks ready. You haven't seen or tasted anything yet from Chef Wenford Patrick Simpson.
In the words of Chef Patrick, Believe in yourself. Love what you do. Believe in your fate.
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Chef Patrick is not only a terrific chef, he’s a nice, down-to-earth person. There are not enough nice words to say about him. Many chefs - many people in the arts - are temperamental. Not him. If there is a criticism, he listens to everyone. It’s an art in itself. He is just that way and it comes out in his food. He knows how to talk to people. He knows how to make people want to work for him, and he gets people to enjoy what they are doing.
He’s very human. I feel honored to know him. I adore him. His food is the product of his personality.
- Miss Lillie, Owner
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He works with a flawless execution and he works well with everybody. If we do have a challenging customer, he’s willing to go see that person. By the end of the night, they’re laughing together and having a great time. Chef is a real gentleman, an A-class guy. He makes everyone’s life a lot easier.
Chef Patrick is such an easygoing chef. Maybe it’s his ‘Caribbean chill’ background!
- Shurette Puckerin, Server
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Chef’s food is absolutely amazing. What’s different about him is the way he runs his kitchen. He’s such a mild-mannered chef. A lot of chefs in this business have a temperamental reputation. He keeps it calm, and he keeps his team calm.
I’ve been doing this for so long, and I’ve worked with a lot of chefs. Honestly, I’ve never seen anything like him.
- Eric Godfrey, General Manager
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There’s something about his energy. He’s a soulful guy. He’s full of energy and it shows in his dishes.
- Andre Ozum, Actor
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Working with Chef Patrick is such an ease. We have been working together on private event clients for 5 years and I really appreciate his kindness, attention to detail and the love of what he does comes through in every dish.
What makes it fun for me to sell his menus are that they are surprisingly beautiful and delicious to guests—they are always surprised that we produce such beautiful food options from a "nightclub restaurant."
Chef has a great time every day and you can see the joy in his food, the way the staff loves him and it helps that he’s always smiling!
- Colleen, Special Event Manager
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Chef Patrick Simpson is not only a great chef but an amazing person. He’s intelligent, creative, and generous & that is reflected very much in all of his food.
- Dartel McRae, Actor
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He’s an extremely selfless person, and always looks out for the other person. He always does due diligence to help everyone else. He is always willing to help out. He’s an extremely great individual.
- Jeff Riyraldo
Community
Community
From a poor boy sleeping on cold floors to becoming a renowned celebrity chef, Wenford Patrick Simpson, popularly known as Chef Patrick, has had a long journey to the top of his career.
Simpson, who hails from Anderson Drive in Clarendon, has a myriad of accolades under his belt. He is the corporate executive chef for BB King Blues Club & Grill in New York, where he oversees all the venues of the restaurant. He is also the executive chef at Highline Ballroom, Howard Theater in Washington DC, and, he has his own celebrity chef show called Cook Up With Chef Patrick on the Tempo Networks, where he cooks with various celebrities.
Over the years, he has amassed a wide array of coveted awards for his culinary skills, two of the most recent being 'Best in Taste' at the Spring Taste NYC in 2015, and 'Best in Taste' at the Taste of Times Square in 2016.
Simpson told THE STAR that he is humbled by all his accomplishments, especially when he reflects on his humble beginnings, coming from a single-parent family, with a mother who worked two jobs struggling to put food on the table. It was this setting that sparked his passion for cooking.
"My mother was mostly at work, so I used to have to cook for my little sister so she would have something to eat when she gets home. One day I was cooking cabbage for her, and I mistakenly put the curry in the cabbage. We didn't have anything else to eat, so I gave it to her. She and her friends laughed at me so bad, I was left in tears," he recalled. "Right after that, I said to her, 'I'm going to show you that I can cook. I'm going to be a chef,'" Simpson shared about his experience at 11 years old.
Soon after, the family relocated to Ocho Rios, St Ann, where Simpson attended Marcus Garvey High School. There, he pursued his passion for cooking through the food and nutrition course and landed an internship with Club Caribbean Hotel in St Ann.
His supervisors were so impressed by his workmanship, that they hired him straight out of high school. He worked there for a year, then moved on to one of the Sandals hotels in St Ann. This should have been a step up for the then 19-year-old Simpson, but things took a turn for the worse when his step-father drove him out of the one-bedroom abode in which Simpson, his little sister, mother and stepfather lived.
"I didn't have a place to live, so I asked for a double shift at the hotel and when I finished working, I would pretended like I was leaving the premises, and I would go to the golf cart room and sleep there on the floor," Simpson shared.
MEDIA APPEARANCES
Skills and Expertise
MEDIA APPEARANCES
Skills and Expertise
• TV guest appearances
• Training
• Word documents
• Excel
• PowerPoint
• Photoshop
• Kitchen safety
• BOH operations
• Culinary writing
• Food industry consulting
• Hot line cookery
• Inventory control
• Sauces
• Product ordering
• Recipe development
• Kitchen management
• Menu development
• Ice sculpture carving
• Baking
• Leadership
• Food sanitation
• Food/menu costing
• Labor cost management
• Knife skills
• Ordering
• Kitchen layout and design with equipment
While customers rave about his cooking, anyone who knows the chef is captivated by his personality. True to his humble Jamaican roots, he has never forgotten the opportunities he received as a fledgling chef with his Caribbean employer, and extends the same compassionate, receptive consideration to co-workers, which turns into a strong motivation for his team.
His memorable personality and meals have brought many celebrities to sample his cooking, including Magic Johnson, Stephen Baldwin, Kevin Campbell, Hillary Clinton, Avril Lavigne, Donald Trump and Jamie Foxx. When he is building a plate, though, it is done with the same conscientious attitude, regardless of the customer.
Chef Patrick’s panache in the kitchen is primed to escalate as he constantly challenges himself with creating new flavor profiles and infusing his heritage with current trends. “If you’re enjoying the meal, that’s all I want,” he declares. “It’s about the passion and satisfying my customers with great and memorable food.”
A FEW ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND APPEARANCES
• Bloomingdales’s (multiple)
• Taste of Times Square (multiple)
• Island Insider TV (multiple)
• iFood TV
• Potato Latke Festival competition
• Tasting Panel Magazine feature
• JULIB web feature
• Service excellence award - Royal Caribbean Cruise line
• NBC holiday menu special appearance
• Taste of Ebony magazine
• Macy’s Culinary Council (multiple)
• Go Green Harlem Cookbook (feature)
• Harlem newspaper (feature)
• Disney Cruise line
• Royal Caribbean Cruise line
• Hundreds of menu developments
• Restaurant consultant
CHEF CHAT
My celebrity friends just love my food it keeps them coming back
CHEF CHAT
My celebrity friends just love my food it keeps them coming back
Last Friday, I had the privilege of cooking for Mr. Jamie Foxx. I'm happy to report that he loved my Cajun fried shrimp!
People ask me if I'm intimidated by creating my dishes for celebrities.
The short answer is, "no."
The long answer is this: I have had the opportunity to cook for many celebrities. I've cooked for actors and singers. Politicians and other public figures have sampled my fare.
By the very nature of where I work, I have been blessed to be able to share my love of cooking for many famous people.
But at the end of the day, it's not the name. It's not how many Grammies they have or laws they've helped sign into place. It's not about how many cars they own or businesses they've started up.
It's about people. It's about knowing that they come into the restaurant hungry and want to satiated. I want to give them something more. I want to make magic on each dish, and see their eyes light up when the food is placed before them. I want them to savor my cooking and feel content, satisfied and wanting to come back.
Is it neat to be able to meet so many celebrities? Absolutely. But it's just as important for me to serve the same food, the same magic, to each person, regardless of who they are or where they came from.
He pushes the boundaries in the kitchen, creating a truly unique dining experience born out of Caribbean spices, Southern cooking and an American flair.
God bless and stay hungry,
Chef Patrick
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RECIPES
Sharing my secret recipes.
RECIPES
Sharing my secret recipes.
CONTACT ME
CONTACT ME
Contact Us
Armed with an international flare and a penchant for comfort food, Chef Patrick quickly disarms you with his charm and tenacity for excellence. Imagine a food experience like no other. A dish bursting with infused spices, tender cuts and the freshest herbs. My passion is to take you on that journey of flavors...Each taste entices, but satisfies; tempts, but fulfills...
Your dining experience awaits, only to be found at the tables of...
MEDIA, INTERVIEWS, TV & FILM,CATERING, PRIVATE LESSONS, PRIVATE DINING COOKING DEMONSTRATIONS, SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS, LICENSING, AND ENDORSEMENTS.